ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN 
INDUSTRY 

A  STUDY  OF  CONDITIONS  IN 
NEW  YORK  CITY 


By 
LOUISE  C.  ODENCRANTZ 


RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 
NEW  YORK,  1919 


Copyright,  1919,  by 
The  Russell  Sage  Foundation 


WM  •  K.  FELL  CO  •  PRINTERS 
PHILADELPHIA 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


List  of  Tables 


II. 
III. 
IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 
XI. 


Introduction 

The  Women  and  Their  Families  . 
Occupations  of  Italian  Women  at  Work 
The  Work  Places  of  Italian  Women 

Hours  of  Work 

What  Seasons  Mean  to  the  Worker 

The  Pay  Envelope 

Ups  and  Downs  of  the  Family  Budget 
The  Woman  Who  Does  not  Live  at  Home 
Education  and  Training 
Readjustment 


PAGE 

iv 

I 

10 

31 

54 

82 

108 

126 

161 

217 

241 

285 


A. 


APPENDICES 

A  Study  of  Italian  Women  Visited  by  the   Inter- 
national  Institute  of  the  Young  Women's  Chris- 
tian Association,  July  1,  1912-June  30,  1913  .        .   299 
Record  Cards  Used  in  the  Investigation       .               .   319 
Supplementary  Tables 329 


Index 


335 


LIST  OF  TABLES 

TABLE  PAGE 

1.  Contributors  to  the  income  of  544  families  of  Italian  women 

workers,  by  age  and  sex 17 

2.  Nativity  of  Italian  women  workers  and  their  fathers  22 

3.  Main  groups  of  occupations  for  Italian  women  workers  in- 

vestigated, for  all  Italian  women,  and  for  all  women  work- 
ers in  New  York  City,  1900 33 

4.  Occupations  of  Italian  women  workers,  by  age  at  time  of 

coming  to  the  United  States 36 

5.  Processes  of  work  performed  by  Italian  women  workers  in 

manufacturing  industries 51 

6.  Proportion  of  Italian  women  workers  in  working  force  of 

shops  investigated,  by  industries 60 

7.  Daily  hours  of  work  for  Italian  women  workers  16  years  of 

age  or  more 83 

8.  Weekly  hours  of  work  for  Italian  women  workers,  by  age    .     84 

9.  Maximum  force  of  women  employed  in  factories  investi- 

gated, by  industry  and  weekly  hours  of  work      ...     86 

10.  Daily  hours  of  work,  including  overtime,  for  Italian  women 

workers,  by  industry 91 

11.  Closing  hour  for  Italian  women  workers  who  had  worked 

overtime,  by  age 92 

12.  Violations  of  laws  regulating  hours  of  work  for  women   16 

years  and  over 101 

13.  Violations  of  laws  regulating  employment  of  girls  under  16      • 

years  of  age 102 

14.  Maximum  and  minimum  force  of  women  employed  during 

year  in  factories  investigated,  by  industry   .  .109 

15.  Weeks  unemployed  of  Italian  women  workers,  by  occupation   115 

16.  Causes  of  unemployment  during  the  year  preceding  investi- 

gation, of  Italian  women  workers 117 

17.  Full  time  weekly  earnings  of  Italian  women  workers,  by  in- 

dustry          129 

iv 


LIST   OF   TABLES 

TABLE  PAGE 

18.  Maximum  wage  paid  to  women  in  factories  investigated,  by 

industry 131 

19.  Full  time  weekly  earnings  of  Italian  women  workers  in  manu- 

facturing, by  process  of  work 134 

20..  Full  time  weekly  earnings  of  Italian  women  workers,  by  age   136 

21.  Full  time  weekly  earnings  of  Italian  women  workers,  by 

years  of  experience 138 

22.  Full  time  weekly  earnings  of  Italian  women  workers,   by 

years  in  the  United  States 143 

23.  Full  time  weekly  wages  and  actual  earnings  in  week  preced- 

ing investigation,  of  Italian  women  workers        .        .        .    146 

24.  Full  time  weekly  wages  and  average  weekly  earnings  during 

the  year,  of  Italian  women  workers 149 

25.  Income  for  year  preceding  investigation  of  Italian  women 

workers,  by  age 151 

26.  Income  for  year  preceding  investigation  of  Italian  women 

workers,  by  number  of  industries  and  positions  employed 

in  during  the  year 153 

27.  Income  for  year  preceding  investigation  of  Italian  women 

workers,  by  occupation 154 

28.  Contributors  to  family  income  among  members  of  48  Italian 

families,  by  age  and  sex 169 

29.  Income  in  year  of  investigation  for  48  Italian  families,  show- 

ing number  of  contributors  and  proportion  from  each  source   187 

30.  Income  and  expenditures  in  the  year  of  investigation  of  48 

Italian  families,  showing  proportion  spent  for  each  pur- 
pose and  margin  or  deficit  for  meeting  expenses  for  cloth- 
ing and  miscellaneous  purposes 192 

31.  Weekly  wages  and  actual  earnings  during  week  preceding  in- 

vestigation of  147  Italian  women  workers  not  living  at 
home 220 

32.  Weekly  cost  of  lodging  and  board  for  Italian  women  workers 

not  living  at  home 223 

33.  Location  and  type  of  day  school  last  attended  by  Italian 

women  workers 243 

34.  Grade  at  leaving  school  for  Italian  women  workers  who  last 

attended  day  school  in  New  York  City  public  schools       .   251 

35.  Principal  reason  tor  leaving  school  of  Italian  women  workers, 

by  last  school  attended 252 

36.  Selected  industries  in  which  the  Italian  women  workers  in- 

vestigated had  ever  been  employed,  and  women  in  each 
specified  industry  at  time  of  investigation    .        .        .        .281 

v 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

A  FTER  the  outbreak  of  the  European  war  in 
A-\  August,  19 14,  immigration  to  this  country 
gradually  decreased  until,  in  comparison 
with  its  pre-war  volume,  it  had  practically  reached 
a  standstill.  Those  who  a  few  years  ago  were  de- 
sirous of  shaking  off  the  poverty  or  the  oppression 
of  their  native  land,  stayed  to  give  their  lives 
in  the  defense  of  the  very  homes  which  they  had 
been  so  ready  to  leave.  The  first  year  of  the  war 
showed  a  falling  off  in  immigrant  alien  admis- 
sions from  1,218,480  to  326,700,  while  the  net  in- 
crease in  the  population  of  this  country  through 
immigration  fell,  because  of  the  large  number  of 
foreign  citizens  returning  to  their  native  lands  for 
war  service,  from  769,276  in  19 14  to  50,070  in  1915.1 
Though  the  figures  for  19 16  and  19 17  showed  a 
temporary  recovery,  the  net  increase  in  population 
by  immigration  was  lower  than  it  had  been  for 
twenty  years.  Some  nationalities  which  showed  a 
decrease  the  year  before,  now  showed  a  material 
increase.    However,  figures  for  the  years  1917-18, 2 

1  Annual  report  of  United  States  Commissioner-General  of  Immi- 
gration for  year  ending  June  30,  191 5,  p.  58.     Washington,  1915. 

2  United   States   Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,   Monthly   Review. 
Vol.  VII,  No.  3,  p.  342. 

1 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

while  not  giving  the  net  gain  in  population  through 
immigration,  show  a  falling  off  in  the  number  of 
immigrant  alien  admissions  to  the  lowest  point 
since  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  Though  the  literacy 
test,  which  went  into  effect  in  May,  19 17,  was  with- 
out doubt  a  factor  in  this  decrease,  America's  entry 
into  the  war  at  about  the  same  time  was  an  even 
more  potent  influence.  These  facts,  however,  should 
not  give  rise  to  the  belief  that  the  immigration 
problem  is  no  longer  with  us. 

Although  the  tide  of  immigration  is  on  the  ebb, 
we  still  have  in  our  midst  thousands  of  foreigners 
who  must  be  molded  into  American  citizens  and 
imbued  with  a  sympathetic  understanding  of  our 
ideals  and  our  institutions.  With  the  restoration 
of  normal  conditions,  the  stream  of  immigration 
will  doubtless  be  renewed  if  not  with  increased 
vigor  certainly  with  new  complexities.  The  hith- 
erto inarticulate  peoples  of  Europe  who  are  now 
finding  voice  in  public  affairs  are  likely,  in  any 
country  to  which  they  emigrate,  to  bring  with 
them  for  good  or  ill  this  new  stirring  of  power.  It 
is,  therefore,  not  the  moment  for  marking  time, 
but  rather  for  finding  out  where  we  stand  in  rela- 
tion to  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  foreign 
born  who  are  now  among  us;  for  learning  what 
manner  of  men  they  are,  what  their  work  and  their 
play,  what  their  struggles  and  their  successes,  what 
their  problems  and  their  discouragements;  for 
helping  them  to  make  the  readjustments  which  are 
necessary  in  order  to  fit  them  into  our  American 

2 


INTRODUCTION 

life;  for  furthering  that  assimilation  which  is  essen- 
tial if  we  hope  to  make  our  immigration  population 
count  in  the  upbuilding  of  our  nation. 

PURPOSE  OF  INVESTIGATION 

It  seems  timely,  therefore,  to  present  as  a  con- 
tribution to  the  basis  of  fact  on  which  to  found 
such  effort,  a  study  of  Italian  working  women,  rep- 
resenting as  they  do  a  nationality  which  has  been 
among  the  most  prominent  in  our  latter-day  immi- 
gration. This  study  aims  to  give  insight  into  the 
means  of  livelihood  of  a  group  of  these  women,  to 
show  their  incomes,  their  home  life,  the  standards 
they  are  able  to  maintain,  the  effect  of  American 
industrial  and  living  conditions  upon  their  native 
standards,  and,  conversely,  the  effect  of  their  Ital- 
ian standards  of  life  and  work  on  the  industries 
they  engage  in.  As  such,  the  study  touches  the 
problems  both  of  immigration  and  of  industry.  It 
was  made,  moreover,  before  the  war  disrupted  our 
social  and  industrial  organization.  The  abnormal 
conditions  as  to  wages,  hours,  employment,  and 
cost  of  living  during  the  war  may  prove  to  be  tem- 
porary. A  knowledge  of  the  pre-war  problems  of 
the  immigrant  woman  in  industry,  therefore,  will 
help  to  solve  the  problems  of  readjustment  and  re- 
construction. 

The  reason  for  choosing  Italians  as  a  subject  for 
investigation  is  closely  connected  with  the  charges 
made  popularly  and  indiscriminately  against  the 
so-called   "new"   immigration — Italians,    Russian 

3 


r 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 


Jews,  Poles,  the  Greeks,  Hungarians,  Slovenians, 
Croatians,  Ruthenians — in  fact,  against  the  whole 
group  of  southern  and  eastern  Europeans.  These 
peoples  are  blamed  for  low  wages,  for  long  hours 
of  work,  for  unemployment,  for  woman  and  child 
labor,  for  industrial  crises,  for  congestion  in  cities, 
for  lowered  standards  of  living,  for  crowded,  insani- 
tary tenements,  for  blocking  the  growth  of  trade 
unionism,  for  pauperism  and  crime,  for  radicalism 
and  unrest,  and  for  other  evils,  real  or  imaginary, 
which  infect  our  present-day  industrial  and  social 
organization.  It  was  as  an  example  of  this  new 
immigration  that  Italians  were  selected  for  study. 
In  other  industrial  investigations  undertaken  by 
the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  especially  in  the 
study  made  of  women  in  the  artificial  flower  trade 
in  New  York  City,  the  assertion  was  frequently 
heard  that  the  Italian  girl  underbids  her  fellow- 
workers  in  every  occupation  she  enters,  that  the 
most  poorly  paid  home  work  is  largely  in  her  hands, 
and  that  Italian  standards  of  living  are  a  menace 
to  American  industry.  It  was  because  so  many  of 
these  statements  were  directed  specifically  against 
Italians,  and  because  this  nationality  formed  so 
large  a  part  of  the  new  immigration  that  it  was 
thought  desirable  to  secure  exact  facts  regarding 
them,  as  a  basis  for  determining  both  the  justice 
of  these  accusations  and  the  wisest  course  which 
the  community  might  take  to  remove  the  causes 
underlying  such  charges,  whether  the  charges 
themselves  proved  to  be  founded  on  fact  or  on  a 
contortion  of  facts. 

4 


INTRODUCTION 
METHOD  OF  INVESTIGATION 

In  view  of  the  large  Italian  population  in  New 
York  City,  an  intensive  investigation  had  ob- 
viously to  be  limited  to  a  comparatively  small 
group  in  one  of  the  main  Italian  districts.  The 
section  finally  chosen  was  the  lower  end  of  Man- 
hattan, below  Fourteenth  Street,  which  includes 
several  Italian  neighborhoods.  This  district 
seemed  to  offer  more  typical  and  representative 
conditions  than  other  Italian  settlements.  The 
population  included  immigrants  from  both  the 
north  and  south  of  Italy,  and  recent  arrivals  as 
well  as  families  that  had  been  in  this  country  many 
years.  In  the  largest  of  these  colonies  there  was 
also  the  advantage  of  hearty  co-operation  with  a 
social  settlement  in  the  neighborhood,  Richmond 
Hill  House,  at  28  Macdougal  Street,  where  a  room 
was  used  as  a  branch  office  for  the  investigators. 
This  settlement,  which  is  closely  in  touch  with  the 
Italians  in  its  locality,  was  at  that  time  considering 
the  establishment  of  a  bureau  for  giving  advice  and 
information  to  Italian  girls  in  the  selection  of  their 
work,  as  well  as  a  better  understanding  of  American 
conditions;  and  the  advisability  of  organizing  such 
a  bureau  furnished  a  good  basis  for  interviewing 
workers  in  the  neighborhood.1  An  evening  club, 
called  the  Italian  Girls'  Industrial  League,  was  also 
organized    under   the   auspices   of   the   Women's 

1  Richmond  Hill  House  has  now  for  several  years  maintained  a 
vocational  bureau  for  the  young  girl  and  women  workers  of  its 
neighborhood. 

5 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

Trade  Union  League  for  the  purpose  of  educating 
the  girls  in  trade  union  ideas. 

The  investigation  was  begun  by  the  Division  of 
Industrial  Studies1  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation 
in  December,  1911.  During  the  following  year  and 
a  half,  until  June,  191 3,  1,095  women  wage-earners 
were  interviewed,  the  living  conditions  of  544  fami- 
lies recorded,  and  a  study  made  of  the  weekly  bud- 
gets of  147  women  not  living  at  home.  A  careful 
record  was  kept  of  the  total  annual  income  and 
the  expenditures  of  48  of  the  families.  The  investi- 
gators also  followed  the  women  into  their  places  of 
work,  visiting  271  manufacturing  establishments 
out  of  the  734  employing  the  group  of  women. 

It  was  through  interviews  with  workers,  how- 
ever, that  the  investigators  gained  the  most  in- 
sight into  the  problems  which  confront  our  alien 
population  both  at  home  and  at  work.  Not  in- 
cluding chats  at  chance  meetings,  2,727  calls  were 
made  on  the  1,095  women  wage-earners  in  the 
group.  At  least  two  visits  were  made  to  the  home 
of  each  worker,  one  during  the  day,  when  a  good 
deal  of  information  about  the  family  could  be 
gathered  from  the  mother,  and  one  in  the  evening, 
when  the  worker  herself  could  be  seen  and  tell  her 
own  story. 

In  the  visits  to  workers  in  their  homes,  informa- 
tion was  obtained  on  their  home  relations,  their 
personal   histories  and  industrial  experience,   and 

'At  thai  time  the  Division  was  known  as  the  Committee  on 
Women's  Work. 

6 


INTRODUCTION 

details  of  the  conditions  under  which  they  were 
working  at  the  time  of  the  interview.1 

For  the  double  purpose  of  corroborating  the 
workers'  statements  concerning  their  places  of  em- 
ployment and  of  studying  the  factories  and  indus- 
tries employing  Italian  women,  the  present  or  last 
place  of  employment  of  a  group  of  the  workers  was 
visited.  Through  these  visits  not  only  were  the 
industrial  standards  prevailing  in  the  establish- 
ments learned  at  first  hand,  but  also  the  general 
position  of  Italian  women  in  them,  together  with 
the  employers'  attitude  toward  their  work. 

To  secure  as  varied  and  at  the  same  time  as 
typical  cases  as  possible,  names  were  sought  from 
widely  different  sources.2  Settlements,  evening 
schools,  trade  unions,  and  other  organizations  in 
touch  with  Italians  were  asked  to  co-operate  with 
the  Division  in  its  investigation.  Workers  in  Grace 
Chapel,  a  church  in  close  touch  with  Italians  on 
the  east  side,  co-operated  heartily  and  supplied  a 
valuable  list  of  names  and  addresses  in  its  neigh- 
borhood. The  International  Institute  of  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association  furnished  another 
important  source.  The  Institute,  in  its  work  of 
helping  immigrant  girls,  sends  a  visitor  to  the  home 

1  Four  cards,  reproduced  in  Appendix  B,  pp.  321-324,  were  used 
to  record  the  results  of  the  visits. 

2  The  sources  from  which  names  were  obtained  were  as  follows: 
Richmond  Hill  House,  239;  relatives  of  workers  interviewed,  233; 
other  workers,  165;  evening  schools,  128;  International  Institute,  97; 
found  by  visitors  or  known  to  them,  104;  Alliance  Employment 
Bureau,  58;  previous  investigations,  33;  Grace  Chapel,  27;  Man- 
hattan Trade  School,  7;  Spring  Street  Neighborhood  House,  2;  trade 
unions,  1;  Consumers'  League,  1. 

7 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

of  every  girl  arriving  alone  at  Ellis  Island  and 
keeps  careful  records  of  the  information  obtained. 
These  records  enabled  the  Division  to  study  at 
close  range  the  problem  of  the  newly  arrived  immi- 
grant.1 

The  investigation  was  carried  on  under  the  di- 
rection of  Miss  Mary  Van  Kleeck,  then  Director  of 
the  Division  of  Industrial  Studies.  Six  investiga- 
tors took  part  in  the  field  work.  They  were  Miss 
Evelyn  Dewey,  Miss  Amalia  Errico,  Miss  Eliza- 
beth L.  Meigs,  Dr.  Anna  M.  Richardson,  Miss 
Elisabeth  Roemer,  and  the  writer.  Miss  Henriette 
R.  Walter  prepared  the  study  of  family  budgets 
which  appears  in  Chapter  VIII.  Through  the 
fact  that  several  persons  were  engaged  in  the  field 
work  the  information  gathered  has  the  advantage 
of  representing  more  than  one  point  of  view.  Even 
facts  are  sometimes  tinged  unconsciously  by  the 
personality  and  attitude  of  a  visitor.  Visitors, 
moreover,  have  a  tendency  to  become  more  in- 
terested in  certain  phases  of  an  investigation  than 
in  others  and,  therefore,  to  gain  fuller  information 
along  those  lines.  Two  of  the  investigators,  one  of 
them  herself  Italian,  could  speak  Italian.  This 
gave  an  opportunity  to  interview  women  who 
could  speak  no  English,  chiefly  newly  arrived  im- 
migrants, who  illustrated  all  the  difficulties  of  re- 
adjustment to  new  surroundings. 

While  the  immediate  concern  of  this  investiga- 

1  For  a  full  account  of  the  N94  Italian  girls  visited  by  the  Institute 
during  the  year  1912-13,  see  Appendix  A,  pp.  299-318. 


INTRODUCTION 

tion  was  the  Italian  woman  in  industry,  the  infor- 
mation about  her  industrial  and  home  conditions 
and  standards  should  be  a  contribution  to  the 
larger  problems  of  immigration  and  of  women's 
work.  As  an  Italian  she  illustrates  some  of  the 
many  questions  that  are  involved  in  the  immigra- 
tion problem;  as  a  worker,  employment  problems 
that  confront  both  men  and  women  wage-earners 
in  the  industrial  field;  while  as  a  woman  she  faces 
the  special  problems  which  relate  to  her  employ- 
ment, problems  which  arise  from  her  physical  limi- 
tations, her  traditional  position,  and  her  recent 
entrance  into  industry. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  WOMEN  AND  THEIR  FAMILIES 

DESIRE  for  better  economic  opportunity  has 
been  the  leading  motive  of  Italian  immigra- 
tion to  the  United  States.  Causes  that  have 
attracted  some  peoples,  such  as  desire  for  political 
or  religious  freedom,  or  the  spirit  of  adventure, 
have  not  drawn  the  Italian  emigrant  from  his  na- 
tive land.  Economic  pressure  in  Italy — wages  so 
low  that  they  permitted  only  very  poor  standards 
of  living  and  no  outlook  for  improvement — caused 
both  men  and  women  to  seek  new  fields  of  labor 
in  a  strange  country.  From  the  hills  and  vineyards 
of  Lombardy  and  Tuscany,  from  the  mountains 
of  Abruzzi,  from  the  farms  of  Basilicata  and  the 
mines  of  Sicily,  they  have  come  with  the  one  com- 
mon purpose  of  getting  better  paid  work. 

While  in  1880  Italian-born  Italians  in  the  United 
States  numbered  44,230,  by  19 10  they  had  reached 
a  total  population  of  1,343, 125. l  In  that  year  the 
total  number  of  Italians  in  the  United  States,  born 
in  Italy,  or  children  of  Italian  parents,  was  2,098,- 
360.   New  York  City  alone  included  544,4492  in  its 

1  Thirteenth  United  States  Census,  1910.  Vol.  1,  Population,  p. 
784. 

5 1  bid.,  p.  035. 

IO 


WOMEN    AND   THEIR    FAMILIES 

population  of  four  and  a  half  million,  and  had 
within  its  boundaries  as  many  persons  of  Italian 
stock  as  Naples,  the  largest  city  in  Italy.  Two- 
thirds  of  these,  or  340,765,  were  immigrants  of 
Italian  birth,  while  the  other  third,  203,684,  had 
been  born  here  of  Italian-born  parents.1 

ITALIAN  COLONIES  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY 

Like  the  earlier  immigrants  from  other  countries, 
Italians  have  drifted  into  particular  neighborhoods 
of  the  city  where  their  countrymen  had  already 
made  their  homes.  Several  such  settlements  have 
grown  up  in  various  parts  of  Manhattan,  the  Bronx, 
and  Brooklyn.  The  principal  districts,  however,  lie 
in  Manhattan,  and  the  section  below  Fourteenth 
Street  still  claims  about  a  third  of  the  Italians  in 
the  city.2  Even  here  they  are  concentrated  still 
further  into  four  or  five  neighborhoods.  One  is  on  < 
the  lower  east  side,  above  the  Manhattan  end  of 
Brooklyn  Bridge.  Another  lies  a  little  farther 
north,  between  Fourteenth  Street  and  East  Hous- 
ton Street;  and  a  third,  the  most  densely  popu- 
lated, extends  from  the  Bowery  to  Broadway  above 
old  Chinatown.  On  the  west  side,  extending 
roughly  from  West  Broadway  to  the  Hudson  River 
and  from  Canal  Street  to  West  Fourth  Street,  is 
the  district  most  varied  in  its  Italian  population. 
Here  are  found  families  whose  parents  were  emi- 
grants  from   Genoa   thirty  or   forty  years   ago, 

1  Ibid.,  p.  913. 

2  Thirteenth  United  States  Census,  1910.     Bulletin.     Population. 
New  York,  p.  28. 

2  I  I 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

together  with  the  emigrants  from  Sicily  who  have 
recently  passed  through  Ellis  Island.  Into  this 
neighborhood,  too,  families  have  moved  from  the 
east  side  as  they  have  become  more  prosperous,  so 
that  both  poor  families  and  those  comfortably  well 
off  live  on  the  same  block. 

The  name  "Little  Italy"  is  frequently  applied 
to  each  of  these  districts,  and  not  inappropriately. 
They  form  small  communities  in  themselves,  al- 
most independent  of  the  life  of  the  great  city.  Here 
the  people  may  follow  the  customs  and  ways  of 
their  forefathers.  They  speak  their  own  language, 
trade  in  stores  kept  by  countrymen,  and  put  their 
savings  into  Italian  banks.  Italian  newspapers 
supply  them  with  the  day's  news;  Italian  theaters 
and  moving-picture  shows  furnish  their  recreation. 
Italian  priests  minister  to  their  spiritual  needs  in 
the  Catholic  churches,  and  societies  composed  only 
of  Italians  are  organized  for  mutual  aid  and  bene- 
fit. The  stores  all  bear  Italian  names,  the  special 
bargains  and  souvenirs  of  the  day  are  advertised 
in  Italian,  and  they  offer  for  sale  the  wines  and 
olive  oils,  "pasta,"  and  other  favorite  foods  of  the 
people. 

Religious  feasts  and  holidays  are  observed  with 
as  much  pomp  as  they  were  in  the  villages  from 
which  these  peasants  came.  The  new-born  babe  is 
wrapped  tightly  in  a  swaddling  sheet  and  its  birth 
is  celebrated  by  much  drinking  of  wine  and  neigh- 
borly rejoicing.  Marriages  are  frequently  arranged 
by  the  parents,  sometimes  even  with  the  help  of  a 

12 


WOMEN    AND    THEIR    FAMILIES 

marriage  broker.  The  father  and  oldest  son  have 
full  authority  over  the  members  of  their  household 
and  the  wife  and  daughters  abide  by  their  rule. 
A  single  woman,  young  or  old,  cannot  go  out  alone 
in  the  evening  without  risk  to  her  good  name. 

While  emigrants  from  all  parts  of  Italy  may 
be  found  in  any  district,  differences  of  dialect,  cus- 
toms, and  standards  of  living  prevent  much  social 
intercourse  unless  they  come  from  the  same  prov- 
ince. Northern  Italians  will  refer  to  people  from 
Naples  and  Sicily  as  "low"  Italians,  and  those 
from  the  south  assert  that  the  north  speaks  a  dif- 
ferent tongue.  A  woman  from  the  vicinity  of  Na- 
ples scornfully  remarked  that  "in  our  language 
ladies  don't  go  out  to  work  after  they  are  married, 
but  they  do  in  Sicily." 

Immigrants  when  they  first  arrive  will  naturally 
seek  out  a  street  or  house  where  others  from  the 
same  village  live.  Sometimes  a  five-story  tenement 
with  its  20  or  30  apartments  may  be  filled  entirely 
with  friends  and  relatives  from  the  same  village 
or  farm  district.  After  they  have  been  here  a  few 
years,  the  line  of  demarcation  becomes  fainter.  In 
the  older  Italian  neighborhoods,  as  on  the  west 
side,  Sicilian,  Genoese,  and  Neapolitans  may  be 
found  in  the  same  house;  and  their  scorn  of  one 
another  has  become  tempered  with  the  mild  for- 
bearance of  dwellers  in  the  same  tenement.  The 
social  character  of  the  Italian  soon  induces  the 
woman  from  Naples  to  take  her  home  work  into 
the  rooms  of  her  Sicilian  neighbor,  or  Theresa  from 

»3 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

Genoa  to  ask  her  foreman  to  take  Maria  into  his 
factory,  even  though  Maria  comes  from  Basilicata. 
The  tenements  in  which  the  Italians  lived  dif- 
fered widely  in  the  comforts  they  provided.  Some 
had  bathrooms,  one  had  the  luxury  of  hot  water 
three  times  a  week,  but  the  sole  water  supply  of 
many,  cold  at  that,  was  a  sink  in  a  public  hallway. 
The  majority  of  families  did  not  have  a  private 
toilet,  but  had  to  use  one  in  common  with  others 
in  the  tenement,  sometimes  as  many  as  four  fami- 
lies using  the  one  toilet,  often  filthy,  dark,  and 
with  plumbing  out  of  order.  Little  activity  was 
shown  on  the  part  of  the  landlords  in  making  im- 
provements in  these  tenements,  and  if  tubs  or  cup- 
boards were  installed,  a  dollar  or  two  a  month  was 
added  to  the  rent.  The  halls,  dark  or  lighted  by  a 
single  gas  jet,  were  seldom  provided  with  oilcloth, 
and  the  rickety  wooden  stairs,  grimy  and  littered, 
were  hard  to  keep  clean.  Usually  the  janitor  was 
not  energetic  enough  to  make  war  on  the  dirt  ac- 
cumulating from  the  footsteps  of  the  hundred  or 
more  occupants  of  the  building.  Nor  were  the 
apartments  much  better  kept.  When  new  tenants 
moved  in  the  walls  might  be  recovered  with  a  new 
coat  of  paint  so  thin  that  the  old  paint  was  still 
visible,  but  landlords  were  slow  to  repair  broken 
plumbing  or  leaking  sinks.  If  any  repairing  was 
to  be  done  for  an  old  tenant,  he  was  sometimes 
called  upon  to  pay  part  of  the  cost.  Each  tenant 
had  to  supply  his  own  cook-stove,  and  some  apart- 
ments were  not  even  supplied  with  gas,  dangerous 

>4 


WOMEN    AND    THEIR   FAMILIES 

oil  lamps  still  being  used.  Some  families,  however, 
were  fortunate  enough  to  live  in  newer  tenements 
with  stone  stairways  and  fairly  well  lighted  halls, 
not,  however,  always  well  cared  for.  Even  in  these 
tenements,  dark  rooms  were  to  be  found. 

But  whether  the  families  lived  in  old  houses 
which  had  formerly  served  as  the  home  for  one 
small  family  but  now  did  service  for  eight  or  ten, 
or  in  old  tenements  with  small,  dark  rooms,  or  in 
the  newer  tenements  fitted  with  "all  improve- 
ments," an  extraordinary  amount  of  overcrowding 
prevailed.  Seventy  per  cent  of  all  the  persons  in 
these  Italian  households  were  living  under  con- 
gested conditions;  that  is,  with  more  than  one  and 
one-half  persons  per  room,  54  per  cent  averaged 
two  or  more  persons  to  a  room,  while  in  one  family 
in  every  10  the  household  counted  three  or  more 
persons  per  room.1 

THE  WOMEN  INVESTIGATED 

Such  were  the  homes  of  the  1,095  wage-earning 
women  who  were  interviewed  for  this  study.  All 
but  27  lived  in  the  Italian  districts  below  Four- 
teenth Street,  and  over  three-fourths,  or  772,  were 
in  the  lower  west  side  colony  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Richmond  Hill  House. 

The  majority  of  this  group  of  women  were  very 
young,  two-thirds  being  under  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  while  a  tenth  were  under  sixteen.  Only  66,  or 
6  per  cent,  were  over  thirty-five  years  old.2 

1  See  Appendix  C,  Table  i,  p.  328.  2  See  Table  20,  p.  136. 

15 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find,  even  in  an 
Italian  group  where  early  marriages  are  the  cus- 
tom, that  a  great  majority,  957,  or  87.4  per  cent, 
were  single.  Of  the  remaining  1 38,  90  were  mar- 
ried, 37  were  widowed,  and  1 1  were  deserted  or 
separated  from  their  husbands.  Only  1 50  were  liv- 
ing outside  a  family  group  or  boarding,  and  of 
these,  three  lived  as  domestic  servants  with  their 
employers.  By  far  the  larger  number,  945,  lived 
with  their  families,  distributed  among  582  house- 
holds. Information  concerning  the  membership, 
sources  of  income,  and  mode  of  living  was  secured 
for  544  of  these.  The  families  had  a  total  member- 
ship of  3,358  persons,  ranging  from  a  blind  grand- 
father to  a  week-old  baby.  The  average  member- 
ship per  family  was  6.2  persons,  and  the  number  in 
any  one  household  varied  from  two  in  23  families, 
to  10  or  more  in  50.  One  family  even  boasted  14 
members.  Those  from  southern  Italy  and  Sicily 
were  especially  large,  with  an  average  of  6.4  persons 
as  compared  with  5.7  persons  in  the  families  from 
northern  Italy.1 

To  maintain  families  of  such  size2  required  in 
most  cases  the  earnings  of  more  than  one  member. 
Even  including  the  aged  and  the  infants,  we  find 
that  62  per  cent  of  all  the  persons  in  these  families, 
or  nearly  two  out  of  every  three,  were  contributing 
in  some  way  to  the  gross  family  income,  a  much 
larger  per  cent   than  was  found  at  work  in  the 

1  See  Appendix  C,  Table  2,  p.  329. 

1  See  Appendix  C,  Table  3,  p.  329. 

16 


WOMEN    AND    THEIR    FAMILIES 

population  as  a  whole  in  New  York  City  in  1910.1 
The  income  of  these  families  was  the  sum  total  of 
the  earnings  of  fathers  and  mothers,  sons  and 
daughters,  and  other  relatives,  and  of  receipts 
from  lodgers,  boarders,  and  home  work.  Table  1 
shows  the  number  and  proportion  of  the  members 
of  the  family  contributing  to  the  income. 


TABLE  I. — CONTRIBUTORS  TO  THE  INCOME  OF  544 
FAMILIES  OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS,  BY  AGE 
AND   SEX 


All  members  of 
families 

Contributors 

Age  and  sex 

Number 

Per  cent  of 
all  members 

Fathers  .... 
Other  males  14  years  old  or 

more  .... 
Mothers  .... 
Other  females  14  years  old 

or  more  .... 
Children  less  than  14  years 

old 

439 

528 
515 

933 

943 

383 

452 
279 

852 

117 

87.2 

85.6 
54.2 

91.3 

12.4 

Total         .... 

3-358 

2,083 

62.0 

The  117  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age 
who  were  contributing  were  chiefly  doing  home 
work  after  school  or  were  still  too  young  to  attend 
school.  The  earnings  of  women  were  the  sole 
means  of  support  in  50  of  the  544  families.  I  n  more 
than  half  of  the  remaining  families  there  was  only 

1  The  total  population  of  New  York  City  was  4,766,883,  and 
2,152,433  persons,  or  45  per  cent,  were  gainfully  employed.  Thir- 
teenth United  States  Census,  1910.  Vol.  I,  p.  79,  and  Vol.  IV,  p. 
180. 

17 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

one  male  contributor,  while  in  about  three-fourths 
of  the  families  the  women  contributors  numbered 
at  least  two.  The  average  number  of  men  contribu- 
tors for  each  family  was  1.5,  of  women  2.1,  and  of 
children  under  fourteen,  one  in  every  five  families. 

FAMILY  INCOME 

The  majority  of  the  families  did  not  rely  upon 
a  single  breadwinner,  but  upon  "several  members, 
to  provide  the  income  with  which  to  pay  for  rent, 
food,  clothing,  doctors'  bills  or  other  necessities. 

While  the  father  was  generally  regarded  as  the 
head  of  the  household  and  the  principal  support, 
he  added  to  the  income  in  only  383  of  the  544  fami- 
lies. In  88  of  the  remaining  161  families,  16  per 
cent  of  all  the  families  studied,  the  father  was  dead, 
and  in  17  he  was  not  living  with  the  family  and 
was  contributing  nothing  to  its  support.  In  56 
families,  or  about  10  per  cent  of  all  the  cases,  the 
father  was  living  at  home  but  was  not  contributing 
in  any  way.  In  addition  to  the  fathers,  452  sons 
and  other  male  relatives  were  sharing  in  the  family 
expenses. 

Of  the  fathers  who  were  contributors,  three- 
fourths,  or  287,  were  wage-earners  outside  the 
home,  86  were  in  business  for  themselves,  and  10 
were  janitors  or  home  workers.  The  leading  occu- 
pation in  the  first  group  was  factory  work,  in  which 
85  were  engaged.  The  variable  demand  through 
the  year  for  many  of  the  products  upon  which  they 
worked,  such  as  men's  and  women's  clothing,  candy, 

18 


WOMEN    AND   THEIR   FAMILIES 

flowers,  and  furs,  affected  materially  the  regularity 
of  their  work.  So  also  those  employed  as  brick- 
layers, hod  carriers,  stone  cutters,  and  iron  workers 
and  in  the  more  unskilled  work  of  shoveling,  dig- 
ging, street  paving,  as  well  as  the  drivers  and  long- 
shoremen, were  subject  to  more  or  less  irregularity 
of  employment.  Thirty-eight  per  cent  of  all  those 
working  reported  their  employment  to  be  irregular, 
while  among  the  wage-earners  alone  the  proportion 
was  44  per  cent.1  Nor  were  their  earnings  during 
their  periods  of  employment  generally  high  enough 
to  allow  of  savings  for  the  idle  day.  Fifteen,  or  10 
per  cent  of  the  wage-earners  reporting,  were  get- 
ting less  than  $8.00,  28,  or  19  per  cent,  less  than 
$10,  and  the  majority,  95,  or  63  per  cent,  were  re- 
ceiving weekly  wages  of  less  than  $15  or  a  smaller 
amount,  even  with  fifty-two  full  weeks  of  employ- 
ment, than  the  $876  minimum  set  by  Streightoff2 
as  the  lowest  yearly  income  upon  which  a  family 
of  five  could  maintain  itself  in  New  York  City. 
This  estimate,  it  should  be  noted,  made  no  allow-  I 
ance  for  savings  or  emergencies. 

The  economic  condition  of  the  father  accounts 
also  to  a  large  degree  for  the  number  of  mothers 
found  contributing  either  by  doing  janitor's  work, 
home  work,  keeping  lodgers,  or  going  outside  to  do 
day's  work  or  office  cleaning,  or  to  work  in  a  fac- 
tory.    In  515  families  the  mother  was  living  at 

1  See  Appendix  C,  Table  4,  p.  330. 

2  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission.  Fourth 
Report,  1915.     Vol.  IV,  Report  on  the  Cost  of  Living,  p.  1,671. 

19 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

home;  in  24  she  was  dead,  and  in  five  she  was  not 
living  at  home.  In  279,  or  more  than  half  of  the 
families  studied,  she  was  contributing  to  the  family 
support.  In  this  group  94  mothers  did  home  work, 
89  factory  work,  23  janitor's  work,  61  kept  lodgers 
and  boarders,  while  the  remainder  were  distributed 
in  various  other  outside  occupations.  Factory 
work,  largely  on  men's  and  women's  clothing  and 
on  flowers  and  feathers,  was  the  chief  occupation  of 
the  women  employed  outside  their  homes. 

The  mothers  at  work,  handicapped  as  they  were 
by  home  duties,  nevertheless  showed  a  good  earn- 
ing capacity.  Of  the  100  employed  outside  their 
homes  who  reported  their  wages,  over  half  were 
paid  weekly  rates  of  $10  or  more,  but  at  the  other 
extreme  were  1 1  who  received  less  than  $6.00  a 
week.  The  irregularity  of  their  work,  however, 
materially  reduced  the  yearly  income.  For  in- 
stance, it  was  found  that  of  the  married  and  wid- 
owed women  included  in  the  investigation  44  per 
cent  of  them  had  lost  twelve  weeks  or  more  during 
the  year,  as  compared  with  only  25  per  cent  among 
the  single  women.  Similarly  it  was  found  that  35 
per  cent,  or  a  third  of  the  married  and  widowed 
women  had  been  unemployed  during  the  week  pre- 
vious to  the  interview,  as  compared  with  about  1  3 
per  cent  among  the  single  women.  The  reasons 
for  their  unemployment  show  their  divided  duty 
between  homekeeping  and  wage-earning;  over  a 
third  were  idle  for  personal  reasons  such  as  illness 
and   cares   at    home,   as   compared   with   about   a 

20 


WOMEN    AND   THEIR    FAMILIES 

fourth  of  the  single  women  who  were  idle  for  the 
same  causes. 

OTHER  SOURCES  OF  INCOME 

Among  the  544  families  noted,  124,  or  nearly  a 
fourth,  were  securing  part  of  their  income  from 
home  work,  and  77  were  adding  to  their  income  by 
taking  in  lodgers  and  boarders,  not  including  the 
numerous  relatives  who  were  living  with  the  family 
as  regular  members. 

The  net  result  of  the  efforts  of  all  these  workers 
through  the  year— fathers,  mothers,  daughters, 
and  sons — is  the  year's  income  for  the  family.  The 
proportions  of  their  earnings  that  all  the  women 
included  in  the  investigation  turned  into  the  com- 
mon budget  shows  how  far  the  families  as  a  whole 
could  rely  upon  its  women  workers  for  its  main- 
tenance. The  pay  envelope  was  turned  in  un- 
opened to  the  manager  of  the  household  by  758, 
or  86  per  cent,  of  the  884  women  reporting.  In  83 
other  cases,  the  women  turned  in  only  a  part  of 
their  earnings,  keeping  the  remainder  for  clothes, 
lunches,  and  carfares.  Thirty  households  were 
run  on  a  co-operative  basis,  the  members  sharing 
equally  in  the  chief  expenses.  Only  1 3  did  not  turn 
any  of  their  earnings  into  the  common  family  fund, 
and  only  one  of  these  was  allowed  to  spend  them 
as  she  chose.  These  facts  are  all  the  more  striking 
because  it  was  not  unusual  to  find  families  in  which 
the  sons  were  not  giving  a  cent  to  the  support  of 
the  home. 

21 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 
NATIVITY  OF  WOMEN 

What  proportion  of  the  women  and  of  their 
fathers  were  emigrants  from  Italy  and  what  pro- 
portion were  born  in  this  country  is  shown  in 
Table  2. 


TABLE  2. — NATIVITY  OF  ITALIAN   WOMEN  WORKERS 
AND  THEIR  FATHERS 


Place  of  birth 

Women  whose  birth- 
place was  as 
specified 

Women  whose  fath- 
ers' birthplace  was 
as  specified 

Italy 

Northern 

Central  .... 

Southern 

Sicily      .... 

District  not  stated 

174 

37 

224 

.58 
1 

330 
64 

513 
166 

9 

Total      .... 

594 

1,082 

United  States 
Other  Countries  . 

496 

5 

8 
3 

Grand  total  . 

1,095 

1,093  a 

a  Of  the  1,095  women  investigated,  two  did  not  state  birthplace  of 
father. 

Slightly  less  than  half  of  the  women  had  been 
born  in  the  United  States,  and  of  these  all  but  18 
in  New  York,  while  all  but  1 1  of  the  fathers  whose 
birthplace  was  given  had  been  born  in  Italy.  Five 
women  were  emigrants  from  South  America, 
whither  their  fathers  before  them  had  emigrated 
from  Italy.  The  594  women  who  had  emigrated 
from  Italy  represented  many  parts  of  the  country, 
as  did  also  their  fathers,.    Sicily  claimed  158,  the 

22 


/ 


WOMEN    AND   THEIR    FAMILIES 

southern  provinces  224,  and  the  northern  174  of 
the  women.1 

THE  IMMIGRANT  WOMAN 

The  problem  of  readjustment  for  the  adult  im- 
migrant is  quite  different  from  the  problem  of  the 
child  immigrant.  The  latter  has  an  opportunity 
to  learn  the  language,  to  attend  an  American 
school,  and  to  gain  some  knowledge  of  American 
ideas,  customs,  and  standards  before  she  enters  the 
industrial  field.  As  one  girl  remarked,  "You  might 
almost  say  I  was  born  here."  The  woman  who 
comes  when  fourteen  years  or  older  is  plunged  at 
once  into  the  midst  of  industrial  conditions  en- 
tirely different  from  any  to  which  she  has  been  ac- 
customed in  Italy.  One-half  the  workers  investi- 
gated faced  this  problem  in  varying  degree. 

Of  the  1,095  women,  8.4  per  cent  had  come  over 
within  a  year  of  the  time  they  were  interviewed, 
and  24  per  cent  had  been  here  less  than  five  years. 
This  means  that  almost  a  fourth  of  these  wage- 
earning  women  had  had  less  than  five  years  in 
which  to  adapt  themselves  to  American  conditions 
of  life  and  labor.  Among  their  fathers,  only  6  per 
cent,  or  43  of  those  who  had  come  to  the  United 
States,  had  been  here  less  than  five  years.  Of  these, 
four  had  been  here  less  than  a  year  and  32  less  than 
three  years.     Two-thirds,  or  405  of  them,  had  been 

1  The  leading  provinces  represented  were,  in  the  north,  Liguria 
with  52  women,  Piedmont,  48,  Emilia,  26,  Lombardy,  24;  in  the 
central,  Abruzzi  with  19;  and  in  the  south,  Campania  (which  includes 
Naples  and  Salerno)  with  124,  and  Basilicata  with  63. 

23 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

in  this  country  at  least  twenty  years,  and  539  came 
over  more  than  ten  years  ago. 

Of  the  women  who  were  born  outside  the  United 
States,  226,  or  more  than  a  third,  came  while  they 
were  under  fourteen  years  of  age;  too  young  to  go 
to  work  unless,  as  some  did,  illegally.  A  very  large 
proportion  of  these  latter  had  had  the  opportunity 
of  attending  school  here,  so  that  they  had  learned 
English  and  knew  something  of  American  ideas 
when  they  were  ready  to  go  to  work.  A  compari- 
son of  their  age  on  arrival  and  their  ability  to  speak 
English  shows  that  only  five  of  the  above  226  were 
unable  to  speak  English  at  the  time  of  the  investi- 
gation, and  three  of  these  had  been  in  this  country 
less  than  five  years.1  One,  who  came  over  seven- 
teen years  ago  at  the  age  of  twelve,  had  never  had 
a  day's  schooling  in  her  life  but  had  gone  to  work 
as  soon  as  she  landed.  Another  who  was  thirteen 
when  she  arrived,  although  she  was  under  age 
went  directly  to  work  in  a  men's  clothing  shop. 

Of  the  373  who  had  arrived  when  they  were  four- 
teen years  or  over,  more  than  three-fourths  could 
not  speak  English  at  the  time  of  the  investigation. 
Even  among  those  who  had  been  here  five  years  or 
longer,  only  a  little  more  than  half  had  learned. 
This  ignorance  of  the  language  may  be  due  in  part 
to  the  fact  that  about  a  third  of  this  group  did  not 
come  until  they  were  twenty-one  years  of  age  or 
older.  Only  one  of  these  women  had  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  going  to  school  in  this  country.    A  few 

1  See  Appendix  C,  Table  5,  p.  330. 
24 


WOMEN    AND   THEIR    FAMILIES 

had  stayed  at  home  for  a  time  after  their  arrival, 
or  had  helped  out  in  the  family  business,  or  under- 
taken home  work.  Most  of  them,  however,  had 
had  to  go  to  work  as  soon  as  they  landed. 

The  friendliness  and  help  that  new  immigrants 
meet  with  at  the  hands  of  their  countrymen  is  a 
matter  for  comment.  Any  person  from  the  same 
village,  man  or  woman,  is  looked  upon  by  the  im- 
migrant as  a  trustworthy  friend  in  America,  though 
an  entire  stranger  in  Italy.  In  some  cases  this 
ready  acceptance  of  the  services  of  fellow-country- 
men has  been  turned  to  evil  account.  For  most 
immigrants,  however,  the  help  so  sorely  needed  at 
this  time  becomes  almost  their  salvation.  Families, 
already  crowded  into  two  or  three  rooms,  willingly 
make  space  for  a  friend  or  cousin,  and  if  they  can 
possibly  manage  it,  no  matter  how  poor,  they  will 
keep  her  as  a  guest  until  she  finds  a  job.  They  will 
pass  the  word  among  their  neighbors  that  she  is 
out  of  work,  and  sometimes  they  try  to  make  her 
clothes  more  presentable  according  to  American 
standards,  so  that  she  will  look  less  like  a  new 
arrival. 

The  reasons  for  immigrating  to  the  United 
States  given  by  these  373  women  who  came  after 
they  were  fourteen,  reflected  the  general  motive  of 
their  countrymen.  About  two-fifths,  while  express- 
ing their  purpose  in  various  ways,  came  "to  get  a 
job."  A  large  number,  128,  said  definitely  that 
they  came  for  that  purpose.  Sixteen  wanted  to 
send  money  to  their  old  parents  or  sick  relatives 

25 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

in  Italy.  Others  wanted  to  earn  a  dowry  so  that 
they  might  return  later  to  Italy  with  brighter  pros- 
pects of  finding  a  husband.  Many  others  had  come 
over  with  their  parents,  or  husbands  and  children, 
or  with  brothers  and  sisters. 

Even  when  they  gave  as  their  reason  for  coming, 
"to  live  with  their  relatives  here,"  "to  see  Amer- 
ica," "to  get  married,"  or  more  specifically  "to 
find  a  husband,"  they  had  gone  to  work  as  a  matter 
of  course.  The  wife  who  in  revenge  was  seeking  a 
delinquent  husband,  was  found  at  the  time  of  the 
investigation  finishing  cloaks,  while  the  young 
woman  of  twenty-four  who  had  always  been 
"crazy"  to  see  this  country  was  pressing  under- 
wear at  $6.00  a  week  in  a  factory  a  few  blocks 
away  from  her  home  on  Thompson  Street.  Rosa, 
who  had  come  here  seven  months  previously  "to 
make  a  dowry"  although  she  was  still  only  seven- 
teen, was  earning  $4.50  a  week  making  cocoanut 
balls  in  a  candy  factory.  Two  sisters,  one  eighteen 
and  the  other  twenty,  who  had  been  here  five 
months,  had,  like  Rosa,  come  "to  make  a  dowry." 
They  were  found  sorting  dusty  waste  papers  and 
rags  in  a  gloomy  basement  on  the  east  side  for  the 
sum  of  $5.00  a  week  each.  Mrs.  Cinque,  when  she 
was  left  a  widow  eleven  years  before,  had  immi- 
grated to  New  York  "  to  forget  her  sorrows."  Ever 
since  she  had  been  working  continuously  as  a  strip- 
per in  a  tobacco  factory.  Another  family  came  be- 
cause it  "got  wrong"  in  Italy.  It  managed  to 
scrape  together  enough  money  for  passage  to  Amer- 

26 


WOMEN    AND    THEIR    FAMILIES 

ica,  and  mother,  brother,  and  daughters  settled  in 
New  York  so  that  the  latter  could  go  out  to  work. 
As  one  of  the  daughters  explained,  "In  Italy,  in 
my  country,  women  don't  go  out  to  work,  but  only 
work  at  home."  -J 

WOMEN'S  WORK  IN   ITALY 

The  remark  that  women  do  not  go  out  to  work 
in  Italy  was  heard  more  than  once.  That  they  do, 
however,  contribute  in  some  way  to  the  support  of 
their  homes  is  amply  shown  by  the  work  histories 
of  the  women  who  were  fourteen  years  of  age  or  over 
when  they  left  Italy.  About  half  of  this  group,  176 
in  number,  had  contributed  to  their  own  support. 
It  is  true  that  79  had  worked  only  at  home — at 
planting  or  plowing  on  their  father's  farms,  at 
crocheting,  weaving,  or  even  making  shoes.  Or  they 
had  helped  in  a  store  or  bakery  kept  by  the  family. 
But  as  their  wages  had  formed  part  of  a  family 
wage,  or  they  had  received  no  money  payment  for 
their  work,  they  did  not  look  upon  themselves  as 
earners. 

The  remainder,  over  a  quarter  of  the  group,  had 
actually  been  at  work  outside  their  homes;  not  a 
small  proportion,  for  150  of  them  were  still  under 
eighteen  years  of  age  when  they  came  to  this  coun- 
try. The  kind  of  work  that  they  had  done  de- 
pended largely  upon  the  districts  from  which  they 
came.  If  a  girl  living  in  a  country  district  wanted 
to  earn  money,  she  had  either  to  work  as  a  farm 
hand  or,  at  best,  become  an  apprentice  with  the 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

village  dressmaker.  Those  who  had  lived  in  larger 
towns,  like  Turin  or  Milan,  had  a  wider  choice. 
Some  had  been  in  large  dressmaking  shops,  others 
had  worked  in  textile  mills  or  factories  where 
gloves,  hats,  or  candy  were  made.  Not  one,  how- 
ever, had  ever  worked  in  an  office,  although  one 
ambitious  young  woman  had  learned  bookkeeping 
and  typewriting,  "not  fast  like  you  have  to  do  it 
here,  but  like  a  lady  would  know  how  to  do  it." 

The  largest  number  had  done  agricultural  work 
either  on  their  parents'  farms  or  as  "hands"  on 
their  neighbors'.  One  woman  from  Basilicata  told 
of  whole  families  going  out  from  the  villages  into 
the  country  to  work,  taking  with  them  even  the 
smaller  children.  She  was  paid  5  cents  a  day  and 
her  meals,  or  20  cents  without  her  meals. 

Whether  they  had  worked  as  farm  hands  for 
their  own  families  or  elsewhere,  they  all  agreed  in 
their  stories  of  heavy  work,  long  hours,  and  child 
labor.  One  woman  fifty-nine  years  old,  but  still 
to  be  found  daily  at  her  bench  in  a  tobacco  factory, 
had  helped  on  her  father's  farm  even  as  a  little  girl. 
Girls  never  went  to  school,  she  said,  but  were  made 
to  work.  Nine  years  in  the  United  States  had  not 
yet  softened  the  bitter  memories  of  another  woman 
who  had  begun  work  on  her  father's  land  when  only 
seven  years  old.  Aida,  still  only  a  child  of  fifteen, 
had  had  to  do  all  the  housework,  besides  working 
on  the  farm.  "  I  worked  like  a  horse,  not  like  a 
woman,"  she  said.  She  still  had  her  red  cheeks  and 
splendid  health  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  she  stood 

28 


WOMEN    AND   THEIR    FAMILIES 

all  day  as  a  turner  in  a  dusty  bag  factory.  But 
heavy  work  out  of  doors  is  a  far  cry  from  working 
in  the  dusty,  close  air  of  a  factory  loft. 

Only  five  had  been  domestics,  and  five  others 
had  done  laundry  work.  Tessie  began  to  go  out 
washing  by  the  day  when  she  was  only  thirteen 
years  old.  In  Genoa,  she  earned  40  or  50  cents  a 
day,  working  for  private  families,  but  only  30 
cents  when  she  ironed  in  a  laundry.  Louisa,  an 
ironer  in  a  laundry  in  Naples,  said  she  could  make 
big  wages — 40  cents  a  day — because  she  was  an 
unusually  fine  worker.  Women  from  Abruzzi, 
Basilicata,  and  Sicily  explained  that  there  were  no 
factories  in  southern  Italy,  so  that  the  women  who 
wanted  to  earn  a  living  had  become  domestics  or 
farm  hands. 

Some  women  from  northern  Italy  had  been  em- 
ployed in  various  industries.  One  woman,  who 
thought  that  factories  were  better  in  Italy  than 
here,  had  been  twenty  years  in  a  silk  mill.  She  had 
become  a  factory  hand  at  nine  years  of  age,  and 
had  had  to  be  at  work  at  half-past  five  in  the  morn- 
ing. With  half  an  hour  off  for  breakfast  and  an 
hour  for  dinner,  she  did  not  reach  home  until 
seven  or  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  At  first  she 
was  paid  only  5  cents  a  day,  but  had  worked  up  to 
the  maximum  of  25  cents  before  she  left.  Another 
who  was  then  a  flower  maker  in  New  York,  had 
wrapped  candies  in  a  Turin  factory  where  she  made 
from  40  to  60  cents  in  a  ten-hour  day.  She  also 
thought  that  bosses  were  better  to  their  girls  there 

29  ""S^/ 


u 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

than  in  New  York,  and  that  conditions  of  work 
were  just  as  good.  Anna,  twenty-one  years  old, 
who  had  been  in  this  country  three  months,  had 
become  a  tobacco  stripper  at  $5.50  a  week.  She 
had  worked  at  skeining  cotton  in  a  mill  near  Lake 
Como.  There  she  earned  only  30  cents  a  day  and 
her  reason  for  emigrating  was  "insufficient  wages." 
Mrs.  Caproni  had  gone  to  work  at  the  age  of  twelve 
in  a  silk  mill  in  Pavia,  where  she  earned  18  cents 
in  a  twelve-hour  day.  To  her  the  factories  in  Italy 
seemed  awful.  As  there  were  few  opportunities 
open  to  girls,  bosses  could  treat  them  as  badly  as 
they  chose.  "Here  if  you  don't  like  a  place,  you 
can  always  find  another." 

It  was  with  such  an  equipment  of  work  experi- 
ence that  these  Italian  women  and  girls  came  to 
sell  their  labor  in  the  American  market.  Usually 
their  work  had  been  far  different  from  anything 
they  might  expect  to  find  here.  Many  had  never 
done  factory  work,  while  the  skill  of  others  would 
be  of  little  use  to  them  in  the  city.  But  their 
strength  and  good  health,  coming  as  they  did  from 
farm  and  village,  their  ambition  to  get  ahead,  al- 
ready evinced  in  their  willingness  to  break  up  their 
homes  or  to  leave  their  parents  in  Italy,  their 
readiness  to  do  heavy  work  and  suffer  hardships 
for  a  better  chance  in  life — these  were  the  assets 

V which  they  had  to  rely  upon  as  competitors  among 
the  600,000  working  women  of  the  city. 


30 


CHAPTER  III 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN  AT 
WORK 

SURROUNDING  the  Italian  district  on  the 
,  lower  west  side  is  an  industrial  boundary  of 
busy  streets  lined  with  high  loft  buildings 
and  remodeled  dwellings  where  the  noisy  work  of 
manufacturing  is  going  on.  If  you  approach  the 
district  from  the  south,  by  way  of  Canal  or  Broome 
streets,  you  will  notice  the  odor  of  chocolate  from 
some  candy  factory,  or  the  strong  smell  of  glue 
from  a  paper-box  plant.  On  the  west  side,  along 
Hudson  and  Greenwich  streets,  alluring  signs  ad- 
vertise the  homes  of  famous  salad  dressings,  spices, 
groceries,  or  pickles.  Approach  from  Broadway 
and  you  pass  crowded  workrooms  where  men's 
clothing  is  made  by  the  wholesale,  hats  turned  out 
by  the  gross,  and  flowers  and  feathers  pasted, 
branched,  and  packed  for  shipment  to  the  farthest 
corners  of  the  country.  You  pick  your  way  through 
the  narrow,  crowded  streets  of  Mercer,  Greene,  or 
West  Broadway,  where  heavily  loaded  trucks  are 
delivering  huge  rolls  of  cloth  or  carrying  away  the 
finished  products  in  the  form  of  underwear,  neck- 
wear, shirtwaists,  or  mattresses  and  burial  sup- 
plies.   To  the  north  of  the  neighborhood  lies  the 

3> 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

! enter  of  the  industry  of  women's  and  children's 
lothing,  not  only  for  New  York  City  but  for  the 
/hole  United  States  as  well.  Here  cloaks  and  suits 
are  stitched  and  finished  for  wearers  from  Maine  to 
Oregon,  dresses  of  silk,  wool,  or  cotton  for  the 
women  of  Dakota  or  Texas,  and  clothing  for  the 
children  of  San  Francisco  or  Atlanta.  Gray  build- 
ings of  i  5  or  20  stories  tower  high  to  the  heavens, 
each  floor  vibrating  with  the  motion  of  heavy- 
power  sewing  machines.  In  the  height  of  the  season 
every  nook  of  each  loft  is  filled  with  men  and 
women  straining  every  nerve  to  satisfy  the  frantic 
demands  of  jobber  and  retailer. 

The  location  of  this  Italian  colony  within  these 
industrial  boundaries  is  typical  of  the  bond  between 
its  members  and  the  life  of  the  city.  When  the 
woman  leaves  her  home,  however  Italian  in  its 
customs,  it  is  in  these  streets  seething  with  Ameri- 
can industry  that  she  seeks  her  day's  work.  Her 
work  place  is  the  means  by  which  she  may  come 
to  look  upon  herself  not  alone  as  an  Italian,  but 
as  a  part  of  the  big  American  labor  force. 

Manufacturing  is  the  leading  pursuit  of  Italian 
women  in  New  York  City.  Although  no  general 
statistics  are  available  about  the  occupational  dis- 
tribution of  the  various  nationalities  since  1900, 
it  is  worth  while  noting  the  figures  showing  condi- 
tions at  that  time.  In  iqoo,  77  per  cent  of -the 
women  workers  of  Italian  parentage  were  engaged 
in  manufacturing,  as  compared  with  36  per  cent 
of  those  of  all  nationalities.     The  Italian  woman 

32 


OCCUPATIONS 

does  not  turn  to  domestic  or  personal  service. 
While  40  per  cent  of  all  the  women  at  work  in 
1900  in  New  York  City  were  in  domestic  and  per- 
sonal service,  only  1 3  per  cent  of  the  Italian  women 
were  found  in  this  field.  In  Table  3,  the  occupa- 
tions of  the  groups  of  women  investigated  are  com- 
pared with  those  in  which  all  Italian  women  in 
New  York  City  were  found  at  work  in  1900.1 

TABLE  3. — MAIN  GROUPS  OF  OCCUPATIONS  FOR 
ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS  INVESTIGATED,  FOR 
ALL  ITALIAN  WOMEN  AND  FOR  ALL  WOMEN 
WORKERS   IN  NEW  YORK  CITY,    IQOO* 


Main  occupa- 
tional groups 

Italian  women 
included  in  in- 
vestigation 

All  Italian 
women 

All  women 

Number 

Per 
cent 

Number 

Per 
cent 

Number 

Per 
cent 

Manufacturing 

Trade  and  trans- 
portation 

Professional   ser- 
vice 

Domesticand  per- 
sonal service 

Agriculture 

1,027 

55 

7 

6 

93-9 

5.0 

.6 

•5 

9-39' 
984 
150 

1,602 

45 

77.1 

8.1 

1.2 

13.2 
■4 

■32,535 
65,318 

22,422 

146,722 
440 

36.1 
.7.8 
6.1 

39-9 
.1 

Total 

1,095 

1 00.0 

12,172 

1 00.0 

367,437 

1 00.0 

»  Twelfth  United  States  Census,  1900.    Occupations,  p.  638  et  ff. 


MANUFACTURING 

For  this  reason  the  investigation  soon  resolved 
itself  into  a  study  of  Italian  women  in  manufactur- 

xThe  census  figures  for  1910  have  not  been  published  for  occupa- 
tions by  nationality. 

33 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 


ing.  Most  of  them  worked  in  factories  within 
walking  distance  of  their  homes.  Some  had  ven- 
tured to  dressmaking  shops  on  Fifth  Avenue,  to 
department  stores  or  offices  as  far  north  as  Thirty- 
fourth  Street,  or  to  factories  uptown  or  even  in 
Brooklyn  or  New  Jersey,  often  in  these  latter  cases 
to  continue  work  in  a  shop  or  factory  that  had 
originally  been  located  in  this  downtown  district. 
But  usually,  the  fact  that  a  firm  had  moved  was 
sufficient  excuse  for  leaving  a  position.  Statements 
like  "  I  don't  want  to  spend  10  cents  a  day  to  ride 
up  there,"  or  "It  was  too  far  to  walk  to  Thirty- 
third  Street,"  or  "  I  didn't  want  a  job  where  1  had 
to  ride,"  showed  why  the  majority  were  still  to  be 
found  in  the  factories  in  nearby  streets. 

Of  the  total  group  of  i  ,095  women  who  were  in- 
vestigated, 1,027,  or  94  per  cent,  were  employed 
in  manufacturing.  Only  seven  had  entered  work 
that  could  be  called  at  all  professional  in  nature. 
These  were  a  model,  a  singer,  a  teacher,  an  assis- 
tant in  a  laboratory,  and  three  social  workers. 
Six  were  in  domestic  or  personal  service  as  wait- 
resses, maids,  or  cooks.  Seventeen  were  in  stores, 
38  in  offices,  1 1  of  whom  were  stenographers,  and 
four  bookkeepers.  The  other  23  clerical  workers 
did  such  unskilled  work  as  addressing  envelopes, 
opening  mail,  or  simple  filing.  Only  occasionally 
did  girls  express  the  opinion  that  office  work, 
however  unskilled,  was  superior  to  that  in  a  fac- 
tory. The  latter  was  generally  accepted  as  offering 
perfectly    respectable   employment    for   any   girl, 

34 


OCCUPATIONS 

with  the  possibility  of  better  earnings  than  office 
work.  A  woman  of  twenty-four,  who  had  been 
opening  mail  in  a  large  publishing  house  for  ten 
years,  explained  that  few  Italian  girls  were  willing 
to  do  clerical  work  as  the  pay  was  too  poor.  "Their 
mothers  wouldn't  stand  for  it.  Most  Italian  girls 
are  operators  because  they  can  make  more  money." 

The  group  of  Italian  women  investigated  prob- 
ably included  a  larger  proportion  of  factory  work- 
ers than  would  be  found  among  wage-earning 
Italian  women  in  the  city.  The  limitation  of  the 
investigation  chiefly  to  an  Italian  district  where 
few  would  be  engaged  in  domestic  service  has  af- 
fected the  proportion  in  this  occupation.  A  tabu- 
lation, however,  of  the  occupations  of  a  group  of 
608  Italian  immigrant  women  who  had  arrived 
alone  in  this  country,  visited  by  the  International 
Institute  in  19 12-13,  showed  that  factory  work 
predominated  among  them  also.1  The  list  of  their 
occupations  showed  77  per  cent  engaged  in  manu- 
facturing, while  only  16  per  cent  were  in  domestic 
and  personal  service,  and  a  little  more  than  1 
percent  in  sales  work.  Thus,  whether  the  women 
were  recent  arrivals,  came  over  as  children,  or 
were  born  here,  they  found  employment  chiefly  in 
the  factory  trades.  Table  4  gives  the  occupations 
of  the  1 ,095  women  by  age  at  coming  to  the  United 
States. 

Among  the  1,027  women  employed  in  factories, 
75  industries  were  represented,  the  number  in  each 

1  See  Appendix  A,  pp.  299-3  >8. 

35 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

TABLE  4. — OCCUPATIONS  OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORK- 
ERS, BY  AGE  AT  TIME  OF  COMING  TO  THE  UNITED 
STATES 


Women  who  were 

Foreign  born 
14  years  old 

Native  born 

Kind  of  work 

and  foreign 
born  less  than 

All 
women 

or  more 

14  years  old 

at  time  of 

at  time  of 

coming 

coming 

Manufacturing  . 

364 

663 

1,027 

Flowers  and  feathers    . 

33 

123 

.56 

Men's  and  boys'  clothing 

64 

3' 

95 

Women's     tailored     gar- 

ments .... 

38 

12 

50 

Custom  dressmaking    . 

6 

18 

24 

Wholesale  dressmaking 

59 

54 

113 

Shirtwaists 

18 

33 

5' 

Muslin  underwear 

6 

34 

40 

Corsets    .... 

7 

15 

22 

Hand  embroidery  . 

21 

21 

42 

All    other   women's    and 

children's  clothing     . 

15 

55 

70 

Paper  boxes    . 

5 

24 

29 

Other  paper  goods 

8 

3' 

39 

Tobacco  .... 

22 

5 

27 

Candy     .... 

22 

46 

68 

Other  foodstuffs     . 

1 1 

16 

27 

Headwear 

3 

34 

37 

Textiles  and  miscellaneous 

sewed  materials. 

1 1 

65 

76 

Rubber,  fur,  and  leather 

goods  .... 

9 

'4 

23 

Miscellaneous     manufac- 

tured goods 

1 

23 

24 

Laundry,     dyeing,     and 

cleaning 

5 

9 

'4 

Store  work  .... 

•7 

'7 

Office  work 

i 

37 

38 

Professional  service  . 

3 

4 

7 

[Domestic  service 

5 

1 

6 

Total         .... 

375 

722 

1,095 

36 


OCCUPATIONS 

of  these  industries  varying  from  1 56  employed  in 
artificial  flowers  and  feathers  and  1 1 3  in  making 
women's  and  misses'  dresses  for  the  wholesale 
trade,  to  the  one  or  two  employed  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  paper  bags,  burial  supplies  or  raincoats.1 
The  variety  of  the  list,  even  for  this  small  group, 
shows  that  Italian  women  have  invaded  almost 
every  woman-employing  industry  in  the  city. 

The  clothing  trades  led  in  the  employment  of 
both  native  and  foreign  born.  About  half,  or  507 
of  those  in  manufacturing,  were  making  men's, 
women's,  and  children's  clothing.  In  the  two  in- 
dustries of  men's  clothing  and  women's  cloaks  and 
suits,  where  the  work  for  women  consisted  chiefly 
of  hand  sewing,  the  foreign-born  women  who  had 
come  over  as  adults  predominated.  Many  had  not 
yet  learned  English.  Few  had  entered  such  trades 
as  muslin  underwear  and  corsets,  where  the  work 
was  chiefly  power  operating. 

Again,  of  the  women  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
turing of  clothing,  nearly  half  were  twenty-one 
years  of  age  or  over.  For  the  entire  group,  however, 
the  young  workers  predominated,  two-thirds  being 
under  twenty-one.  Only  16  per  cent  of  the  group 
were  twenty-five  years  or  over,  though  it  included 

1  Of  48  manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits  which  employed 
women  and  were  listed  for  New  York  City  in  the  United  States  Census 
of  Occupations  in  1900,  43  were  employing  women  of  Italian  parent- 
age. The  five  industries  which  did  not  employ  any  were  such  unusual 
pursuits  as  bleacheries,  dye  works,  model  and  pattern  making,  pow- 
der, cartridge,  and  wire  making,  and  woolen  mills,  occupations  no 
one  of  which  employed  more  than  200  women  throughout  the  city. 
United  States  Census,  1900.    Occupations,  p.  640. 

37 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

many  women  who  had  emigrated  to  this  country 
as  adults.  The  unskilled  trades,  such  as  flowers, 
feathers,  candy,  and  paper  boxes,  employed  the 
majority  of  the  young  girls. 

The  Needle  Trades:  That  the  needle  industries 
should  lead  in  employing  Italian  women  is  not  sur- 
prising when  we  consider  that  in  1909  the  two 
leading  industries  in  New  York  City  measured  by 
value  of  products  were  women's  and  men's  cloth- 
ing. In  this  city  was  manufactured  69.3  per  cent 
of  all  women's  clothing  in  the  United  States,  and 
38.4  per  cent  of  all  men's  clothing.1  Here  alone 
were  employed  55,601  women  on  women's  clothing, 
or  more  than  half  of  those  so  employed  throughout 
the  United  States,  and  23,228  women  on  men's 
clothing.  These  two  industries  combined  employed 
40  per  cent  of  the  total  women  counted  in  manu- 
facturing establishments  in  New  York  City  in 
1909.2 

Moreover,  the  needle  trades  appeal  especially 
to  Italians.  Their  idea  of  the  woman  is  primarily 
as  a  home  maker.  Just  as  in  every  home  you  find  a 
sewing  machine  in  order  that  the  mother  can  make 
her  children's  clothes,  so  the  daughter,  when  she 
is  ready  to  go  out  to  work,  wants  to  choose  dress- 
making. In  this  way  she  believes  that  she  will 
some  day  be  able  to  sew  her  own  clothes.  Unfor- 
tunately they  have  no  realization  of  the  fine  sub- 

1  United  States  Census  of  Manufactures,  1910.  Vol.  VIII,  p.  124 
et  ff. 

Mbid.    Abstract.    Supplement  for  New  York,  p.  774  et  ff. 

38 


OCCUPATIONS 

divisions  that  exist  in  this  trade  today,  when  such 
tasks  as  sewing  on  buttons  on  shirtwaists,  cutting 
threads  off  petticoats,  operating  a  ruffling  or  but- 
tonhole machine,  or  setting  in  sleeves  may  be  the 
one  process  that  a  girl  will  work  at  year  after  year. 
Even  when  she  has  secured  a  chance  to  work  in 
a  custom  dressmaking  place  she  rarely  learns  how 
to  make  a  whole  garment,  but  spends  the  day  as 
a  finisher,  sleeve  draper,  waist  finisher,  repair  or 
alteration  hand,  or  even  as  a  presser  or  stock  girl. 
Though  the  work  is  still  done  for  individual  cus- 
tomers, the  increasing  size  of  such  shops  tends  to 
greater  subdivision  of  labor  for  the  workers,  and 
there  is  as  little  chance  for  a  woman  to  learn  how 
to  make  a  whole  garment  as  in  the  shops  where 
dresses  are  made  by  the  wholesale. 

Lucy,  an  interesting,  ambitious  girl  of  twenty- 
one,  who  was  busily  cutting  out  a  dress  on  the 
floor  while  talking  to  the  visitor,  said  that  most 
Italian  girls  went  into  dressmaking  and  the  sewing 
trades  because  they  believed  they  would  be  useful 
to  them  after  marriage.  "We  have  to  think  of  the 
future  and  not  always  of  the  present."  Her  sister, 
however,  disputed  the  fact  that  the  trade  would 
teach  her  much  about  making  her  own  clothes. 
"  In  a  shirtwaist  factory,"  she  said,  "you  may  have 
to  do  only  one  part  of  the  waist,  sleeves,  closing-in, 
or  hemming,  and  you  will  have  to  work  fast  at  that 
one  thing."  Another  girl  of  seventeen,  who  during 
her  three  years'  work  in  a  flower  factory  had  been 
the  principal  support  of  her  old  mother  and  father, 

~~ 39~~ 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

still  regretted  that  she  had  never  been  able  to 
"learn  a  trade — something  like  dressmaking,  so  I 
could  make  my  own  clothes." 

Many  of  the  women  had  learned  fine  hand  sew- 
ing in  the  public  or  convent  schools  in  Italy;  others 
had  worked  as  apprentices  and  finishers  with  the 
village  dressmaker,  or  had  themselves  been  the 
dressmaker  for  the  village.  Over  four-fifths  of  the 
group  of  65  who  had  worked  at  some  form  of  sew- 
ing in  Italy  were  in  needle  trades  in  New  York 
City.  One  girl,  who  began  to  learn  dressmaking  as 
soon  as  she  left  school,  said  that  nearly  all  girls 
in  Italy  do  this  so  that  they  will  know  how  to  sew. 
Lola  became  an  apprentice  in  a  shop  in  Turin  at 
the  age  of  twelve.  After  she  had  worked  three 
years  without  pay,  she  received  buona  paga  (good 
pay),  $5.20  a  month.  She  said  that  girls  trained  in 
Italy  as  dressmakers  were  much- in  demand  here, 
as  they  knew  all  the  processes  and  did  better  work 
than  those  who  had  learned  the  trade  in  this  coun- 
try. Another  young  girl,  who  had  been  here  only 
six  months,  earned  up  to  $9.00  a  week  as  an  opera- 
tor on  dresses.  At  twelve  she  had  gone  to  work  for 
a  dressmaker  in  her  native  village.  After  a  year 
or  two  she  went  into  a  regular  dressmaking  estab- 
lishment in  a  larger  town;  later  to  Milan  to  learn 
the  fashionable  work.  She  explained  that  big  shops 
are  called  "  schools,"  but  that  they  are  in  reality  like 
the  factories  here. 

Some  of  these  women  had  been  able  to  advance 
quickly.    For  instance,  in  a  year  and  a  half,  Lena, 

40 


OCCUPATIONS 

who  was  only  twenty,  had  worked  up  to  sample 
making  at  $12  a  week.  She  had  begun  at  the  age 
of  twelve  in  a  large  shop  in  Turin,  earning  60  cents 
a  month.  After  learning  the  trade  she  earned  $15 
a  month.  Not  satisfied,  she  had  gone  to  France 
and  worked  for  six  months  in  a  shop  in  Dijon 
where  she  made  $10  a  month  besides  room  and 
board.  She  found  factory  work  hard  in  America, 
as  she  was  not  accustomed  to  working  fast.  She 
liked  to  make  the  whole  dress  and  to  work  carefully 
and  thoroughly.  "  But  if  a  girl  worked  that  way  in 
a  wholesale  house  here,  she  could  not  make  any- 
thing and  would  soon  get  laid  off." 

"Your  work  is  all  right  provided  it  is  done 
quickly  enough"  was  a  criticism  frequently  made. 
"They  do  only  cheap  work  in  this  country.  Every- 
thing must  be  done  in  a  hurry.  In  Italy  it  would 
take  six  months  to  do  a  pillow  and  here  it  must  be 
done  in  three  or  four  hours.  Cheap  work!"  said 
Linda  Baia,  an  expert  embroiderer.  A  finisher  on 
dresses  complained  that  she  had  to  learn  the  trade 
all  over  again  when  she  came  here  because  in  Italy 
there  was  more  hand  sewing  and  no  subdivision  of 
processes.  If  one  worked  fast  there,  people  would 
say  that  the  work  must  be  badly  done,  and  every- 
one was  taught  to  do  as  beautiful  sewing  as  pos- 
sible. There  it  would  take  months  to  make  a  dress. 

Perhaps  these  criticisms  are  not  always  fully 
merited,  as  the  women  have  not  realized  that  they 
are  no  longer  making  garments  for  individual  cus- 
tomers but  for  wholesale.    In  the  group  of  65  who 

41 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

had  worked  at  sewing  or  dressmaking  in  Italy, 
seven  had  gone  to  work  in  the  specialized  line  of 
men's  clothing,  nine  on  women's  cloaks  and  suits, 
three  on  shirtwaists,  29  at  wholesale  dressmaking, 
two  on  muslin  underwear;  only  four  were  in  cus- 
tom dressmaking,  where  they  might  have  some 
prospect  of  doing  the  careful  and  all-round  work 
to  which  they  had  been  accustomed.  The  others 
were  struggling  with  the  piece-work  system,  ex- 
treme specialization  of  processes,  the  operation  of 
the  power  machine,  with  the  emphasis  on  speed  and 
output  rather  than  on  quality. 

Hand  embroidery  had  likewise  presented  an  op- 
portunity of  employment  to  some  of  these  immi- 
grants, especially  to  some  of  the  better  type  who 
had  learned  the  work  in  the  convents  or  schools 
of  Italy  as  a  personal  accomplishment.  Here, 
when  embroidered  fancy  waists  and  dresses  were 
in  fashion,  they  found  an  unexpected  commercial 
value  in  their  skill.  For  instance,  one  woman  who 
could  speak  only  a  few  words  of  broken  English 
was  making  $14  a  week  at  embroidery  and  bead- 
work.  Another  was  earning  $13  a  week  embroi- 
dering beads  on  chiffon.  She  was  doing  the  finest 
work  in  her  shop  and  her  sisters,  all  embroiderers, 
estimated  that  the  "boss"  was  making  about  $20 
a  day  on  her  work.  Three  sisters  earned  their 
living  by  embroidering  waists  and  chiffon  dresses. 
They  agreed  that  Rose,  the  youngest,  was  the 
poorest  worker  as  she  had  learned  the  trade  in  this 
country  and  not  in  Italy. 

42 


OCCUPATIONS 

Other  immigrant  women  were  found  in  the 
needle  trades  besides  those  who  had  learned  to 
sew  in  Italy.  Many,  especially  the  older  ones,  who 
had  been  farm  hands  or  housewives  in  Italy  and 
were  often  illiterate,  had  turned  to  the  simple 
work  of  finishing  on  both  men's  and  women's 
tailored  garments.  Little  training  is  required  for 
this  work.  Moreover,  the  organization  of  the  work 
in  the  shop  requires  so  little  supervision  by  the 
employer  that  ignorance  of  English  forms  no  bar 
to  these  women.  As  piece  workers  they  may  be 
trusted  to  work  at  top  speed  to  earn  the  small 
wage  of  $6.00  or  $7.00  a  week.  Through  neighbors 
or  relatives  who  did  home  work,  some  newly  ar- 
rived immigrants  had  heard  of  jobs  in  these  shops 
and,  according  to  the  law  of  least  resistance,  there 
they  went  to  work.  Often,  too,  the  friendly  home 
worker  would  show  the  woman  the  rudiments  of 
the  trade,  so  that  she  did  not  feel  as  "strange"  as 
if  she  had  been  plunged  into  the  midst  of  work  in 
a  noisy  candy  or  paper-box  factory.  This  appealed 
especially  to  the  older  women,  who  were  timid  in 
seeking  work.  That  men's  clothing  is  an  industry 
employing  many  new  arrivals  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  1 1 1  of  the  362  women  who  had  gone  to  work 
immediately  after  landing  had  first  worked  on 
tailored  garments. 

The  extensive  advertising  in  Italian  papers  by 
New  York  firms — American,  German,  and  Russian 
— especially  for  workers  in  the  clothing  trades 
shows  that  to  them,  at   least,  Italian  women  are 

4  43 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

desirable  employes.  Often  advertisements  in 
Italian  to  attract  those  who  cannot  speak  English 
offer  special  inducements  of  "buona  paga,  lunga 
stagione,  union  shop"  (good  pay,  long  season,  union 
shop).  Advertisements  appear  for  "operatrici  per 
vesti  di  sciffon  $15  a  $25  per  settirnana"  (operators 
on  chiffon  dresses  to  earn  $15  to  $25  a  week).  "20 
ricamatrici  cercansi,  lavoro  a  pkni  o  a  settirnana.  Si 
da  lavoro  a  casa"  (20  hand  embroiderers  wanted, 
piece  or  week  work.  Work  given  home).  Or  "opera- 
trici, guarnitrioi  e  body  makers  si  cercano  per  cami- 
cette  di  lawn.  Buona  paga.  LavorafissotuttiVanno. 
Non  si  da  lavoro  a  gente  delV  unione"  (operators, 
trimmers,  and  body  makers  wanted  on  lawn  waists. 
Good  pay.  Steady  work  all  year.  No  work  given 
to  members  of  the  union). 

The  Italianizing  of  such  English  words  as  "bush- 
elers"  into  bucellatrici,  "operators"  into  operatrici, 
"drapers"  into  drappergiatrici,  and  "pressers"into 
pressatori or pressatrici,  "dressmakers"  into  dressa- 
trici,  suggests  that  no  equivalent  terms  for  these 
specialized  occupations  exist  in  Italy.  The  name 
of  her  industry  and  her  particular  job  are  usually 
the  first  English  words  that  the  immigrant  learns. 
A  woman  will  shrug  her  shoulders  helplessly  when 
you  ask  her  where  she  lives  or  how  long  she  has 
been  in  this  country.  Her  attempt  to  answer  you 
with  "feenisher,"  "press,"  "west,"  " dress," or  "clo- 
ding,"  suggests  that  her  work  forms  the  strongest 
link  with  her  new  world. 


44 


OCCUPATIONS 

The  Flower  and  Feather  Trade:  The  flower  and 
feather  industry,  which  has  come  to  be  looked  upon 
as  the  Italian  women's  trade,  especially  attracted 
the  young  English-speaking  girls  of  American  birth 
or  women  who  had  been  here  since  childhood.  The 
few  older  women  who  were  found  in  this  trade 
were  mainly  employed  at  the  heavy  but  unskilled 
work  of  pressing  petals  or  leaves.  Angelina  Delibro, 
a  woman  of  fifty,  had  been  handling  a  pressing 
machine  for  five  years,  but  made  only  $5 .00  a  week. 
She  was  glad  of  a  chance  to  make  10  cents  extra 
by  working  half  an  hour  overtime  on  Saturdays. 
Although  the  work  was  unskilled,  she  claimed  that 
she  earned  so  little  because  she  was  too  old  and  her 
fingers  were  too  stiff  for  her  to  learn  to  do  good 
work. 

For  the  young  girl  as  she  left  school  it  was  often 
the  first  choice.  Perhaps  she  had  been  making 
flowers  at  home  after  school  ever  since  she  could 
remember.  When  the  time  came  for  her  to  find 
work  outside  her  home,  even  this  slight  experience 
or  the  offer  of  a  job  from  the  boss  who  had  supplied 
her  mother  or  a  neighbor  with  home  work,  easily 
accounted  for  her  entering  this  trade.  Of  the  156 
who  were  in  flower  and  feathers,  65  had  done  such 
work  at  home  before  leaving  school.  Antoinette 
Baretti  wanted  to  be  a  nurse  when  she  left  the 
public  school,  as  her  teacher  had  told  her  about 
the  work.  But  when  she  learned  that  in  a  hospital 
a  nurse  may  have  to  scrub  floors,  she  decided  she 
would  rather  be  a  shop  girl.    Dressmaking  would 

45 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

have  been  her  choice  if  her  eyes  had  not  been  so 
weak.  Finally  she  went  to  work  in  a  flower  and 
feather  factory  where  her  aunt  was  a  forewoman. 
An  attractive,  up-to-date  American-born  girl  of 
nineteen  was  found  sewing  ostrich  plumes  at  piece 
work.  She  also  had  planned  to  go  into  dressmak- 
ing, but  a  friend  offered  to  take  her  into  a  position 
in  a  feather  factory,  "and  so  my  mother  thought 
I  might  as  well  go  there,"  she  explained.  "  It  was 
right  after  my  father  died."  Her  sister,  Celestine, 
had  remarked  to  a  visitor  two  years  before,  while 
still  in  school,  that  she  was  going  into  dressmaking 
and  not  flower  making,  although  she  had  made 
flowers  at  home  for  years,  because  "that  is  no 
trade."  But  she  became  a  flower  maker.  "  I 
couldn't  do  anything  else,  so  I  had  to,"  she  ex- 
claimed hopelessly.  A  woman  of  twenty-nine  had 
been  working  at  branching  and  flower  making  since 
she  was  twelve.  Three  other  women  had  been 
sewing  ostrich  plumes  for  over  twenty-five  years. 
None  of  these  had  ever  ventured  into  any  other 
work  and  were  proud  of  their  trades. 

Few  in  this  industry  or  in  any  other,  however, 
showed  as  much  enthusiasm  for  their  work  as  did 
a  charming  light-haired  American-born  girl,  thor- 
oughly absorbed  in  sewing  ostrich  feathers.  Warned 
by  an  older  sister  not  to  go  into  candy  making  be- 
cause "that  is  no  kind  of  a  trade  and  a  woman 
can't  work  at  it  after  she  is  married,"  Milly  took 
up  feather  making.  She  had  grown  to  love  her  oc- 
cupation, and  it  was  a  rare  pleasure  for  the  visitor 

46 


OCCUPATIONS 

to  hear  her  describe  the  different  processes,  and  to 
watch  her  deft  fingers  as  she  scraped,  pared,  tinted, 
and  sewed  a  plume. 

This  very  requirement  of  deftness  of  touch  and 
pliability  of  the  fingers  suggests  why  few  of  the 
adult  immigrants  were  feather  or  flower  makers. 
Farm  work  or  heavy  housework  had  hardened 
their  hands,  and  even  in  the  heavier  work  in  this 
trade  they  are  handicapped. 

Paper-Box  Making:  Paper-box  making  was  an- 
other trade  employing  principally  the  American 
born.  They  were  young  girls  of  seventeen,  eighteen, 
or  nineteen,  and  eight  out  of  29  in  this  trade  had 
been  in  it  for  less  than  a  year.  The  girls  agreed  that 
the  work  was  monotonous  and  sometimes  heavy, 
that  very  little  skill  was  required,  and  experience 
counted  for  little.  It  had  attracted  only  the  less 
ambitious,  and  often  girls  sought  to  impress  the 
visitor  with  the  fact  that  they  were  in  the  trade 
only  because  they  could  get  no  other  work.  Ra- 
phaela,  nineteen  years  old,  had  been  standing  for 
two  years  at  her  table  pasting  paper  on  the  bot- 
toms of  boxes.  "  You  get  used  to  it,  but  in  the  sum- 
mer your  feet  get  sore."  She  was  ashamed  to  tell 
anyone  her  trade.  "1  always  imagine  that  people 
think  it  is  a  dirty  trade,  and  they  ask  me  if  I  can't 
get  anything  better  to  do."  Ida  had  worked  up 
from  tumer-in  and  stripper  to  setter-up.  With  four 
years'  experience  she  was  earning  a  fairly  steady 
piece  wage  of  $9.00  or  $10,  although  the  danger  of 
having  a  finger  crushed  in  the  machine  limited  her 

47 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

speed.  Angelina  Bellini  was  the  oldest  of  eight 
children  in  a  family  where  the  father  had  unsteady 
work  as  a  day  laborer.  Leaving  public  school  at 
eleven,  she  had  been  working  for  nine  years  in  the 
paper-box  trade.  As  a  paster  she  usually  earned 
JSioa  week,  but  with  overtime  and  Sunday  work 
for  as  much  as  seventy-six  hours  in  one  week,  she 
had  earned  up  to  $15.50  in  a  week.  She  thought  it 
the  hardest  trade  there  was,  but  since  she  had 
learned  it  she  was  not  willing  to  go  back  and  begin 
over  again  at  a  low  wage  in  something  else. 

Mrs.  Bardi,  a  widow  of  thirty-two  with  three 
children  to  support,  finished  paper  boxes.  She 
usually  earned  $5.00,  but  sometimes  added  $2.00 
a  week  by  putting  rings  on  strings  at  home.  A 
young  girl  of  seventeen  was  a  stripper,  but  had 
never  made  over  $5.00,  although  she  was  born  in 
this  country  and  had  gone  to  a  New  York  public 
school.  The  shiftlessness  and  low  standards  of 
her  home  were  reflected  in  her  work  and  lack  of 
ambition.  She  first  began  work  on  paper  boxes, 
then  for  three  months  worked  in  a  steam  laundry, 
nine  months  in  a  hair  goods  place,  and  then  at 
paper  boxes  again,  although  she  thought  it  "an 
awfully  bad  trade." 

The  Tobacco  Trade:  The  tobacco  industry  had 
the  largest  proportion  of  foreign  born,  only  one 
out  of  the  27  so  employed  claiming  the  United 
States  as  her  birthplace.  It  is  also  the  industry 
having  the  largest  proportion  of  women  who  could 
not  speak  English.     Two-thirds  had  not  yet  learned 

48 


OCCUPATIONS 

it,  although  only  five  of  the  group  had  been  here 
for  as  short  a  period  as  two  years.  Among  these 
were  several  older  women  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  farm  work  in  Italy  and  who  had  not 
objected  to  the  smell  or  the  stain  or  the  rough 
wear  on  the  hands  to  which  the  Americanized  girl 
or  woman  would  object. 

Candy  Making:  Although  there  was  a  general 
verdict  against  candy  making  as  a  desirable  trade, 
yet  68,  or  over  6  per  cent  of  the  group  investi- 
gated, were  employed  in  it  at  the  time  of  the  inter- 
view, while  136  had  tried  it  at  some  time  in  their 
work  careers.  In  this  trade  were  found  both  the 
older  immigrant  women  and  younger  American- 
born  girls.  Immigrant  women  who  could  speak 
no  English  were  employed  at  the  less  desirable 
and  dirty  work  of  peeling  cocoanuts  or  almonds, 
or  sorting  peanuts.  Biagia,  who  had  come  four 
months  before  from  Sicily,  was  peeling  almonds 
in  a  large  west  side  candy  factory  for  $4.50  a  week. 
As  she  could  speak  no  English,  she  could  not  get 
anything  better  than  this  work  which  she  had 
secured  through  the  aunt  with  whom  she  lived. 
The  girls  of  American  birth,  or  those  who  could 
speak  English,  worked  as  packers,  wrappers,  or 
at  the  better  paid  work  of  dipping  by  hand  or 
machine. 

Whether  they  had  been  in  the  trade  for  a  few 
months  or  many  years,  they  cared  little  for  it. 
Mrs.  Sartori,  who  worked  at  the  trade  before  her 
marriage  and  had  returned  to  chocolate  dipping, 

49 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

said  the  candy  trade  was  about  the  worst  there 
was,  especially  on  account  of  the  long  hours.  She 
hoped  that  her  daughters  would  never  go  into  it, 
"unless  they  are  forced  to,"  and  she  was  struggling 
to  send  the  oldest  to  a  trade  school  so  that  she 
might  escape.  Josephine,  only  fourteen,  had  had 
no  other  choice  than  a  position  as  a  plat  carrier. 
As  she  had  to  be  on  her  feet  all  day  and  carry 
quite  heavy  loads  in  the  ice-room,  her  mother  was 
afraid  her  health  would  suffer,  but  she  did  not  know 
how  to  find  anything  else  for  her.  Carmela  Lenaro, 
however,  was  one  of  the  few  who  seemed  satisfied. 
She  had  been  a  packer  for  two  years.  "  I  was 
'  walking  along  the  street  and  the  forelady  was 
standing  outside.  She  said  to  me,  'Little  girl,  are 
you  working?  If  you  want,  you  can  come  in  here 
and  learn  packing.'  So  I  went  in  and  now  I  am 
used  to  the  trade  and  wouldn't  like  to  work  at 
anything  else." 

PROCESSES  OF  WORK 

We  can  understand  better  the  demands  made 
upon  the  skill  and  experience  of  these  girls  and 
women  by  considering  the  processes  at  which  they 
work  instead  of  the  industry.  The  name  of  the 
industry  gives  little  clue  to  the  nature  of  the  tasks 
that  the  workers  are  called  upon  to  do.  Table  5 
classifies  the  women  according  to  the  specific  pro- 
cess at  which  those  in  manufacturing  were  engaged. 

The  mere  fact  that  it  is  possible  to  make  such  a 
classification  as  the  table  shows  is  in  itself  significant 

5<> 


OCCUPATIONS 


and  is  proof  of  the  present  minute  subdivision  of 
labor.  More  than  a  fifth  of  the  women  were  opera- 
tors of  power-run  sewing  machines.    They  were  at 


TABLE  5. — PROCESSES  OF  WORK  PERFORMED  BY 
ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  MANUFACTURING 
INDUSTRIES 


Process  of  work 

Women 

Operating  sewing  machines 
Feeding  and  tending  machines 

222 

64 

Fine  hand  sewing      .... 

61 

Medium-grade  hand  sewing 

185 

Coarse  hand  sewing 

36 

Hand  and  machine  processes  combined 

27 

Pasting 

Branching  (flowers  and  feathers) 
Cutting 

90 

45 
19 

Hand  stamping         .... 

Measuring  and  weighing 

Sorting 

7 
9 
'5 

Examining 

Folding 

Packing 

Wrapping  and  tying 

Ribboning 

_ 

12 

7 

48 

8 

6 

Pressing  and  cleaning 

Processes  peculiar  to  certain  industries 

21 
76 

Work  incidental  to  manufacturing,  such  as  supervising  and 

stockkeeping 

Work  not  stated  further  than  as  "general,"  or  learning    . 

38 
3i 

Total 

I,027a 

a  Of  the   1,095  women  investigated,  68  were   not   employed   in 
manufacturing  industries. 

work  on  dresses,  shirtwaists,  underwear,  corsets, 
petticoats,  veils,  curtains,  straw  hats,  dress  shields, 
and  mattresses.  As  operators  they  guided  strip 
after  strip  or  article  after  article  into  the  machine, 
with  no  opportunity  even  to  hold  a  needle  in  their 

51 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

hands.  Whatever  basting  was  required  was  done 
by  others.  Nor  did  their  machine  work  mean  that 
they  made  a  complete  garment.  In  making  the 
simplest  muslin  underwear,  operators  described 
themselves  still  further  as  tuckers,  rufflers,  double 
hemmers,  lace  runners,  fly  makers,  buttonhole 
makers,  or  button  sewers.  One  girl,  who  thought 
there  was  no  trade  so  good  as  that  of  underwear, 
had  managed  to  learn  how  to  make  a  whole  muslin 
nightgown,  but  her  day's  work  consisted  merely  in 
sewing  in  yokes.  A  few  sample  makers  only,  per- 
haps made  a  garment  throughout. 

This  fine  subdivision  of  work  was  also  found  in 
hand  sewing  and  other  hand  processes.  In  making 
shirtwaists  or  dresses,  for  example,  women  were 
employed  at  processes  so  unskilled  as  distributing 
work  to  the  operators,  sewing  on  buttons  by  hand, 
marking  for  buttons.  Other  girls  were  examiners, 
pressers,  or  packers.  Rarely  did  a  girl  combine 
even  two  of  these  simple  processes,  and  even  more 
rarely  hand  and  machine  work.  Only  27  women 
were  combining  a  hand  and  machine  process  in 
their  work.  Yet  as  has  been  said  it  was  the  oppor- 
tunity to  learn  to  make  a  garment  throughout 
that  had  attracted  many  of  these  women  into  the 
needle  trades.  Hand  sewing  was  the  work  of  282 
women.  One  group  did  fine  hand  sewing,  such  as 
embroidery  or  the  making  of  buttonholes,  occupa- 
tions requiring  neat,  careful  stitches.  Another 
group  of  185  women  did  hand  sewing  of  a  medium 
grade,  finishing  clothing,   sewing  on   braids  and 

52 


OCCUPATIONS 

passementerie,  preparing  and  trimming  hats,  mak- 
ing neckwear,  or  finishing  and  lining  furs.  A  third 
group  were  coarse  sewers,  whose  task  was  to  make 
things  hold  together.  They  sewed  on  buttons, 
tacked  covers  on  umbrellas,  or  sewed  ostrich  feath- 
ers, lampshades  or  teddy  bears. 

The  functions  of  the  workers,  in  processes  of  the 
same  name,  vary  widely  in  different  industries. 
Because  a  girl  knows  how  to  branch  flowers  it 
does  not  follow  that  she  knows  how  to  branch 
feathers.  Packing  flowers,  which  requires  an  ar- 
tistic sense,  is  far  different  from  packing  candy. 
The  pasting  of  samples  on  cards,  requiring  a  neat, 
deft  touch  and  a  sense  of  color,  is  quite  unlike  the 
mechanical  pasting  of  labels  on  wine  bottles.  Nor 
does  the  wrapping  of  a  chocolate  in  silver  foil  bear 
much  resemblance  to  the  wrapping  of  pamphlets  in 
a  paper  cover.  ,, 

A  description  of  occupations  for  even  one  na-   \ 
tionality  gives  a  cross-section  of  the  complex  make- 
up of  the  work  force  in  an  industry.     We  have 
seen  one  trade  attracting  large  numbers  of  young    \  »  v^ 
girls,  another  a  majority  of  the  older  women;  one      >  ^v*- 
industry  where  the  new  immigrant  ignorant  of    * 
English  predominated,  another  where  the  Amer-     (^/y^tv 
ican-born  girl  was  found  in  every  kind  of  job.    On 
the  other  hand  still  others  employed  Italian  wo- 
men of  every  age  and  degree  of  skill  and  education. 
Such  variations  should  give  pause  to  any  desire  to 
generalize  and  put  into  one  pigeonhole  the  skilled,     C**0 
and  into  another  the  unskilled  industries. 


53  ^ 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  WORK  PLACES  OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN 

NOT  so  very  many  years  ago  society's  chief 
interest  in  workers  was  in  the  amount  of 
their  earnings,  and  that  largely  as  a  source 
of  taxes  or  a  cause  of  pauperism.  But  the  world 
has  passed  this  stage  of  "it  is  nobody's  business" 
policy  in  regard  to  its  wage-earners,  and  the  com- 
munity is  now  generally  ready  to  recognize  that 
the  conditions,  under  which  they  work  are  matters 
of  public  concern.  The  manufactured  products 
and  the  money  returns  are  not  the  only  interests 
of  the  public.  It  feels  a  responsibility  for  the 
human  element — the  producer. 

INDUSTRIAL  STANDARDS 

There  is  now  general  agreement  that  industry 
should  meet  at  least  certain  minimum  requirements 
or  standards  in  conditions  of  employment.  Opin- 
ions differ  as  to  the  methods  by  which  it  may  be 
made  to  live  up  to  these  standards,  whether  through 
the  pressure  of  public  opinion,  the  social  education 
of  employers  and  workers  and  voluntary  action  on 
their  part,  state  regulation,  or  some  other  method. 
The  principle  of  minimum  requirements,  however, 
is  accepted  as  fundamental  to  social  welfare  and 
progress.    The  following  statement  embodies  cer- 

54 


WORK    PLACES 

tain  of  these  requirements  and  standards  which 
have  been  accepted  as  a  basis  for  measuring  the 
welfare  of  the  human  factor  in  industry:1 

"First  and  elementary  among  these  matters  are 
working  conditions.  These  should  be  made  as 
wholesome  and  safe  as  possible.  Fire  hazards 
should  be  minimized,  machinery  guarded,  sani- 
tary conditions  maintained,  industrial  diseases 
prevented,  and  good  light  and  ventilation  pro- 
vided.    .     .     . 

"Second,  until  children  are  sixteen  years  of  age 
it  is  essential  that  they  develop  normally  and  re- 
ceive training  for  the  work  of  life.  Any  occupa- 
tion, therefore,  is  objectionable  which  interferes 
with  such  development  or  training.  Under  four- 
teen, children  should  not  be  employed  in  gainful 
occupations. 

"Third,  hours  of  labor  should  not  be  so  long  as 
to  injure  health  or  toTJeny  workers  opportunity  for 
self-improvement,  the  development  of  home  life,      ( 
and  an  intelligent  interest  in  public  affairs.    Eight  Xtyt 
hours  for  a  day's  work  is  a  standard  which  is  now 
widely  accepted. 

"Fourth,  every  worker  should  have  one  da_y  of 
rest  in  seven. 

"Fifth,  women  and  children  should  not  be  em- 
ployed at  night. 

1  Odencrantz,  L.  C,  and  Potter,  Zenas:  Industrial  Conditions  in 
Springfield,  Illinois,  p.  6.  These  are  based  upon  a  statement  of  Social 
Standards  for  Industry  recommended  in  the  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Standards  of  Living  and  Labor  of  the  National  Conference  of 
Charities  and  Corrections  in  1912. 

55 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

"Sixth,  workers  who  give  their  full  working 
time  to  an  industry  should  receive  as  a  very  mini- 
mum a  wage  which  will  provide  the  necessities  of 
life.     .     .     . 

"Seventh,  either  the  'necessities  of  life'  should 
include  enough  to  allow  workers  to  carry  insur- 
ance and  have  something  for  old  age  or  else  in- 
dustry should  provide  directly  for  the  care  of  in- 
capacitated workmen  and  for  the  dependents  of 
workmen  who  are  killed  or  used  up  at  work  through 
payment  made  by  the  employer, — the  cost  to  be 
distributed  over  society  by  some  form  of  insur- 
ance or  other  method. 

"Eighth,  irregularity  of  employment  should  be 
minimized,  and  when  workers  lose  their  positions 
adequate  facilities  should  exist  to  help  them  find 
new  places. 

"Ninth,  the  bargaining  power  in  settling  the 
terms  of  the  work  agreement  should  be  as  evenly 
balanced  as  possible  between  the  employer  and 
the  employe.  This  would  recognize  the  right  of 
employers  and  employes  alike  to  organize  or  form 
unions." 

Any  industrial  investigation  in  a  center  like  New 
York  City,  with  approximately  1,500,000  men  and 
600,000  women  at  work,  is  important  because  of 
the  opportunity  it  provides  to  compare  actual  con- 
ditions with  this  program  of  minimum  require- 
nients.  The  value  of  such  a  study  is  increased 
when  it  deals  with  Italians  and  other  immigrants 
whose  entrance  into  industrv,  it  is  claimed,  tends 


WORK    PLACES 

to  lower  standards  of  employment  as  well  as  those 
of  living. 

SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION 

The  1,095  Italian  women  and  girls  investigated 
were  found  to  be  at  the  time  of  the  interview  or 
when  last  employed,  in  734  different  establish- 
ments covering  61  distinct  industries.1  The  in- 
vestigation of  work  places,  however,  was  limited 
to  271  shops  engaged  in  manufacturing  in  Man- 
hattan^ Flone  was  made  of  the  workplaces  of  the 
few  engaged  in  offices,  stores,  restaurants,  or  in 
private  families.  The  dress  and  waist  industry 
likewise  was  omitted  as  an  investigation  of  it  was 
being  conducted  at  the  time  by  the  Wage  Scale 
Board2  of  that  industry,  financed  jointly  by  the 
Employers'  Association  and  the  trade  union. 
Many  establishments  engaged  in  flower  and  feather 
making,  millinery,  and  bookbinding  had  been 
covered  in  previous  investigations  of  which  re- 
ports had  already  been  made.3    Other  omissions 

1  The  following  list  will  indicate  how  the  original  list  of  734  was 
reduced  to  271 :  Number  of  firms  not  engaged  in  manufacturing,  69; 
establishments  covered  in  previous  investigations,  55;  establishments 
in  dress  and  waist  industry,  covered  by  another  investigation,  121; 
addresses  incomplete,  not  found,  etc.,  198;  information  refused,  11; 
outside  Manhattan,  9. 

2  The  results  of  this  investigation  have  been  published  as  Bulletin 
146  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  Wages  and  Regu- 
larity of  Employment  and  Standardization  of  Piece  Rates  in  the 
Dress  and  Waist  Industry  of  New  York  City.     1914. 

3  Van  Kleeck,  Mary:  Artificial  Flower  Makers  (1913),  Women  in 
the  Bookbinding  Trade  (1913),  and  A  Seasonal  Industry,  a  study  of 
the  millinery  trade  in  New  York  (1917).  Russell  Sage  Foundation 
Publications. 

57 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

were  due  to  the  fact  that  some  workers,  especially 
those  who  could  not  speak  English,  were  unable 
to  give  complete  addresses.  They  knew  how  to 
get  to  their  shop,  but  could  not  tell  the  name, 
street,  or  number.  In  other  cases  the  shops  had 
moved  or  failed.  • 

In  only  1 1  cases  did  the  employer  refuse  the 
information  desired.  While  some  were  naturally 
more  interested  and  communicative  than  others, 
most  of  them  tried  sincerely  to  give  what  informa- 
tion they  had.  Many  were  interested  in  particular 
phases  of  their  work,  with  little  to  say  upon  other 
problems;  so  that  there  was  little  uniformity  in 
the  kinds  of  information  secured  in  the  various 
establishments.  One  employer  had  given  serious 
thought  and  much  time  to  the  problem  of  keeping 
his  workers  the  whole  year  round.  Another  took 
no  interest  in  this  question,  discharging  workers 
when  he  didn't  need  them  and  advertising  when 
he  did.  Some  had  had  experiences,  favorable  or 
unfavorable,  with  trade  union  organizations  which 
they  were  anxious  to  tell  about;  others  showed 
not  the  slightest  interest  in  the  subject.  Some 
answered  only  direct  questions  and  could  not  be 
persuaded  to  show  their  shops  or  employes  at 
work.  Others  escorted  the  visitor  from  basement 
to  roof,  explaining  every  detail  of  the  work  and 
conditions  with  a  genuine  interest  in  the  purpose 
of  the  visit. 

In  194  cases  the  owner  or  manager  was  inter- 
viewed and  frequently  the  foreman  or  forewoman 

58 


WORK    PLACES 

was  called  in  to  supplement  their  information. 
In  other  cases  the  manager  or  owner  was  inacces- 
sible and  the  information  was  furnished  by  the 
forewoman  or  by  someone  in  the  office.  The 
amount  of  information  given  varied  with  the  in- 
terest and  leisure  time  of  the  person  interviewed; 
but  the  investigators  were  met  with  uniform  cour- 
tesy, the  interview  not  infrequently  ending  with 
an  invitation  to  return  for  further  information. 

As  the  investigators  went  from  shop  to  shop 
they  were  impressed  with  the  diversity  of  the  prob- 
lems involved.  Some  Italians  were  in  establish-  " 
ments  which  boasted  of  the  highest  industrial 
standards;  others  in  sweat  shops  where  workers 
were  crowded  together  under  the  worst  conditions; 
some  in  places  where  everyone  from  owner  to  er- 
rand girl  was  Italian,  and  that  the  language  of  the 
shop;  others  where  they  were  lost  in  a  variety  of 
nationalities  and  the  employer  could  scarcely  tell 
whether  or  not  he  had  Italians  on  his  payroll. 
It  was  exceptional  to  find  shops  where  all  the 
workers  were  Italian  or,  on  the  other  hand,  indus- 
tries in  which  they  were  not  represented  at  all. 
Of  the  271  shops  included  in  this  investigation, 
216  reported  the  number  of  Italian  women  em-  1 
ployed  and  the  proportion  they  formed  of  the/ 
regular  force.  In  a  total  of  13,000  women  em- 
ployed, nearly  one-third,  or  4,600,  were  Italian 
by  birth  or  by  parentage.  Table  6  shows  how  the 
numbers  varied  in  different  industries.  Many  em- 
ployers frankly  did  not  know  how  many  or  what 
5  59 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

proportion  of  their  workers  were  Italian,  so  that 
the  information  cannot  be  given  for  55  shops. 

TABLE  6. — PROPORTION  OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORK- 
ERS IN  WORKING  FORCE  OF  SHOPS  INVESTIGATED, 
BY  INDUSTRIES11 


Italian 

women 

All 

employed 

Industry 

women 
em- 

Percent 

ployed 

Number 

of  all 
women 

Flowers  and  feathers      .... 

325 

i>5 

35-4 

Men's  and  boys'  clothing 

M32 

1,079 

75-3 

Women's  tailored  garments  . 

99 

67 

67.7 

Wholesale  dressmaking 

555 

177 

31.9 

Muslin  underwear  and  corsets 

2,414 

435 

18.0 

Hand  embroidery 

•25 

117 

93.6 

All  other  women's  and  children's  cloth- 

ing        .... 

2,182 

490 

22.5 

Paper  boxes 

447 

199 

44-5 

Other  paper  goods  . 

965 

118 

12.2 

Tobacco    . 

'55 

60 

38.7 

Candy 

806 

477 

59:2 

Other  foodstuffs 

456 

204 

44-7 

Headwear 

769 

253 

32.9 

Textiles  and  miscellaneous  sewed  ma- 

terials     

1.337 

520 

38.9 

Rubber,  fur,  and  leather  goods 

522 

136 

26.1 

Miscellaneous  manufactured  goods 

335 

73 

21.8 

Laundry    

184 

97 

52.7 

Total 

13,108 

4,617 

35-2 

a  Of  271  shops,  55  did  not  supply  information  as  to  proportion  of 
Italian  women  employed. 

In  the  shops  doing  hand  embroidery  and  laun- 
dry work,  making  men's  clothing  women's  tailored 
garments,  and  candy,  more  than  half  the  women 
were  Italian.  Hand  embroidery,  with  94  per  cent 
of  the  workers  Italian,  headed  the  list.     Many  of 

60 


WORK    PLACES 

these  were  immigrants  who  had  learned  the  trade 
in  convents  and  private  schools  of  Italy.  At  the 
time  of  the  investigation,  the  fashion  required 
that  chiffon  waists,  dresses,  and  gowns  should  be 
elaborately  embroidered  with  silks  or  beads.  The 
fashion  had  come  suddenly,  as  is  the  way  of  fash- 
ions, and  no  Americans  or  workers  of  other  na- 
tionalities had  been  trained  for  this  work,  so  that 
the  Italians  found  a  ready  market  for  their  skill, 
with  few  competitors. 

The  second  largest  proportion  was  in  men's 
clothing  factories,  where  75  per  cent  of  the  women 
workers  were  Italian!  In  22  out  of  27  such  shops, 
Italian  was  the  predominant  nationality.  To  the 
immigrant  trained  in  fine  hand  sewing,  the  mak- 
ing of  hand  buttonholes  offered  an  excellent  field 
of  work,  and  other  women  could  quickly  pick  up 
the  simple,  coarse  sewing  like  tacking  and  basting. 
For  instance,  in  a  men's  clothing  firm  on  Spring 
Street  employing  about  450  workers,  practically 
all  of  the  150  women  were  Italian,  many  of  whom 
could  not  speak  English.  Most  of  the  work  was 
simple,  consisting  of  finishing,  felling,  turning 
straps,  trimming  off  threads,  cleaning,  sewing  on 
buttons,  making  pads,  and  basting,  at  which  the 
women  could  earn  from  $6.00  to  $10  a  week.  A 
few  were  working  side  by  side  with  men  operating 
machines  and  earning  up  to  $26  a  week;  15  were 
skilled  hand  buttonhole  makers,  earning  up  to  $16 
a  week.     No   learners  were  taken,  but   unskilled 


61 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

help  was  used  for  such  simple  work  as  tacking 
and  turning  strips. 

Almost  as  large  a  proportion  of  the  women  in 
shops  making  women's  cloaks  and  suits  was  Ital- 
ian. The  work  was  for  the  most  part  finishing,  as 
buttonholes  were  made  by  machines  operated  by 
men.  Great  speed,  however,  combined  with  ac- 
curacy, is  essential  for  a  good  finisher  in  this 
trade,  and  it  usually  takes  about  two  years  to 
become  skilled.  Consequently  older  women  were 
employed.  The  major  part  of  the  work  was  done 
by  men,  and  in  the  shops  visited  seldom  as  many 
as  10  women  were  employed.  The  trade  was 
stroj2glyjorganized_for  women  as  well  as  men,  and 
in  the  bugx  season  the  earnings  of  the  women 
soared  up  to  $18,  $20,  or  even  $35  a  week.  A 
long  slack  season,  however,  cut  down  these  high 
earnings,  when  some  shops  were  closed  entirely 
for  three  or  four  months,  or  only  one  or  two  wo- 
men were  kept  for  chance  orders.  Many  of  the 
Italian  women  who  were  married  did  not  seek 
other  work  during  the  slack  season  but  stayed  at 
home.     One   employer  thus   explained   the   high 

T wages  of  these  women:  "I  believe  it  is  because 
they  have  a  way  of  working  after  they  are  married. 
As  it  takes  some  time  to  get  started  and  efficient 

k^he  longer  trade  life  gives  them  the  advantage." 

Italians  formed  less  than  a  fourth  of  the  women 

in  industries  like  the  making  of  muslin  underwear, 

corsets,  children's  clothing,  umbrellas,  linens,  paper 

goods,  and  metal  articles.     In  the  making  of  straw 

62 


WORK    PLACES 

hats,  a  highly  skilled  occupation  where,  according 
to  some  employers,  only  one  in  20  succeeds  _in 
learning  the  trade,  with  wages  ranging  up  to  $30 
or  $40  a  week  during  the  busy  season,  over  a  third 
of  the  women  Mere  Italian  in  the  shops  investi- 
gated. One  manufacturer  said  that  the  highest 
wage  in  the  preceding  week,  $38,  had  been  paid/ 
to  an  Italian.  "Italian  girls  are  very  nice  about 
their  work  and  I  am  glad  to  get  them  when  I  can. 
They  like  perfection  in  their  work."  But  in  paper- 
box  makingT where  the  work  was  simple,  easily 
learned,  and  wages  rarely  reached  $10  a  week,  44.5 
per  cent  of  the  women  were  Italian. 

Italians  predominated  in  112  out  of  240  shops 
in  which  employers  could  state  a  prevailing  na- 
tionality, but  in  every  industry  there  were  other 
shops  where  the  majority  were  Americans,  He- 
brews, Germans,  or  Irish.  In  some  industries  the 
Italian's  skill  with  the  needle  was  a  special  asset, 
or  her  love  for  perfection  and  deftness  of  touch, 
while  in  other  cases,  because  of  her  ignorance  of 
the  language  and  of  how  to  get  a  job,  she  was 
forced  to  accept  dirty,  unskilled  work. 

EMPLOYERS'  ATTITUDE 

To  the  majority  of  employers  a  worker  is  a 
worker,  irrespective  of  nationality.  One  employer 
stated  that  he  had  never  noticed  any  special  race  > 
characteristics  in  work  but  thought  them  indi- 
vidual. "Some  Italians  are  excellent,  and  some  are 
very  poor."     In  some  shops  larger  numbers  were 

63 


J1 

ITALIAN  WOMEN   IN  INDUSTRY 

\  employed  because  the  foreman  or  owner  was  Ital- 
ian, or  the  shop  was  situated  in  an  Italian  neighbor- 
hood. One  candy  manufacturer  would  not  em- 
ploy an  Italian  who  did  not  wear  a  hat,  but  came 
bareheaded  or  with  a  shawl  over  her  head.  An- 
other employer  in  the  cloak  and  suit  industry 
stated,  "We  have  only  the  better  grade  of  Italians, 
born  and  educated  here.  They  all  speak  English." 
Another  in  the  same  line  said,  "We  never  take 
Italians  if  we  can  help  it.  They  make  trouble 
with  the  other  workers."  "  I'll  take  anybody  who 
can  do  my  work  for  me.  I  don't  care  what  lan- 
guage they  speak,"  said  a  manufacturer  of  boys' 
clothing.  The  crux  of  the  matter  was  probably 
that  if  workers  came  up  to  the  employers'  stan- 
dards of  cleanliness,  appearance,  and  ability  to  do 
the  work,  there  was  not  much  discrimination  on 
grounds  of  nationality.  Employers  had  no  preju- 
dice against  the  Italian  girl  who  dressed  like  her 
fellow-workers  and  spoke  their  language.  Her 
employment  depended  largely  upon  the  individual 
employer,  as  one  wanted  only  Italians,  while  his 
neighbor  manufacturing  the  same  kind  and  grade 
of  goods  objected  seriously  to  her  employment. 
Agreement  was  general  that  she  earned  the  same 
wages  as  other  workers  in  their  shops.  Some 
employers  went  further,  declaring  that  Italians 
were  unusually  industrious  and  earned  more,  while 
others,  with  different  experience,  would  agree 
with  the  employer  who  said  thai  Italians  ruin 
every  trade  they  take  up  because  "they  will  work 

(»4 


V* 

WORK    PLACES 

for  anything."  Both  extremes  were  rare,  however, 
and  the  general  verdict  was  that  they  were  no 
worse  and  no  better  paid  than  the  other  workers 
in  the  shop. 

WORKING  CONDITIONS 

Factory  Buildings:  Factories  were  housed  in  three 
types  of  buildings — the  modern  loft,  the  old  loft, 
and  the  remodeled  dwelling.  The  distinction  be- 
tween a  modern  and  an  old  loft  is  based  on  struc- 
ture rather  than  on  equipment,  so  that  a  building 
housing  a  men's  clothing  firm,  although  it  has  in- 
troduced elevators  and  a  sprinkler  system,  is  still 
classed  as  an  old  loft  because  of  the  wooden  floors  ^ 
and  stairs  and  the  limited  window  space.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  five-year-old  concrete  building, 
•built  expressly  for  the  firm  occupying  it,  was 
classed  as  a  modern  loft  in  spite  of  the  absence 
of  elevators.  The  manager  believed  that  a  fac- 
tory was  a  place  to  work  in  and  did  not  wish  his 
employes  "joy-riding"  in  the  elevator.  Usually 
the  formal  entrance,  the  uniformed  elevator  man, 
and  the  concrete  steps  were  evident  in  the  modern 
loft  buildings,  while  a  freight  elevator  entered 
from  the  street,  or  worn  wooden  stairs  ushered  us 
into  the  old  loft  building. 

The  investigators  found  54  shops  occupying 
entire  buildings,  74  more  than  one  floor,  135  one 
floor,  and  the  remaining  eight  less  than  an  entire 
floor.  The  size  of  the  shop,  however,  gives  no  in- 
dication of  the  number  in  the  workroom.  A  firm 
occupying  two  adjacent  lofts  employed  only  eight 

65 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

women.  Their  work,  spooling  silk  and  cotton, 
required  much  space  for  the  winding  machines. 
Another  firm,  dealing  in  ladies'  neckwear,  occu- 
pied a  very  large  main  floor  loft.  They  employed 
four  girls  as  the  neckwear  was  all  made  elsewhere. 
These  four  worked  by  arjifidajjli£ht__in  a  small, 
dark  room  in  the  rear  of  the  building. 

The  workrooms  in  remodeled  dwellings  were 
the  most  unsatisfactory.  With  wooden  stairs, 
dark  halls,  inadequate  lighting,  and  poor  sanitary 
equipment  these  afforded  little  safety  or  comfort 
to  the  workers.  In  one  case,  12  girls  were  crowded 
into  the  basement  workroom  of  a  candy  shop  on 
Varick  Street  with  a  damp  cement  floor,  where 
they  had  to  work  by  gaslight  all  day.  On  the 
other  hand,  modern  brick  buildings,  such  as  the' 
seven-story  fireproof  factory  occupied  by  a  to- 
bacco company  employing  1,500  women,  were 
often  equipped  throughout  with  a  sprinkler  system, 
and  fire  drills  were  held  each  month.  A  factory 
for  the  manufacture  of  knee  pants  was  located  on 
the  sixth  floor  of  an  old  loft  building  which  was 
not  provided  with  an  elevator,  so  that  the  15 
women  and  50  men  had  to  begin  their  day's  work 
with  a  climb  of  five  flights  of  wooden  stairs  poorly 
lighted.  At  the  time  of  the  visit  a  leak  in  the  hall 
of  one  of  the  upper  floors  had  caused  water  to 
drip  down  through  the  stairs.  The  rest  of  the 
building  was  occupied  by  a  laundry  and  as  the 
doors  were  left  open  the  _building  was  saturated 
with_stgani ■     However,  as  it  was  taller  than  its 

66 


WORK    PLACES 

neighbors,  the  workers  once  upstairs  had  fresh  air 
and  good  light.  Only  a  few  of  the  women  were 
provided  with  chairs  with  backs,  although  they  sat 
for  eight  and  a  half  hours  a  day  operating  power 
machines  or  sewing  on  buckles  by  hand. 

About  three-fourths  of  the  buildings  were 
equipped  with  elevators.  These  were  usually  only 
freight  elevators,  rickety,  slow  traveling,  and  fre- 
quently decorated  with  the  signs,  "You  travel  on 
this  elevator  at  your  own  risk."  In  the  55  buildings 
having  no  elevator  service,  10  of  the  workrooms 
could  be  reached  only  by  climbing  three,  four,  or 
five  flights  of  stairs;  four  others  were  situated  in 
the  basement.  Not  only  is  lack  of  elevators  bad 
for  the  health  of  the  workers  but  a  menace  in 
case  of  fire. 

Fire  Protection:  While  the  present  study  could 
not  cover  the  technical  side  of  fire  protection, 
which  required  more  thorough  examination  and 
understanding  of  the  problem  than  was  necessary 
for  the  purpose  of  this  inquiry,  the  investigators 
observed  all  degrees  of  fire  protection  or  lack  of  it. 
One  modern  factory  boasted  the  largest  fire-escape] 
in  the  world.  In  many  cases,  however,  so  crowded! 
were  the  workrooms  with  piles  of  stock  that  escape 
in  time  of  accident  or  fire  would  be  doubtful.  Some 
employers  had  regular  monthly  fire  drills  under 
trained  supervision;  others  did  not  even  know 
what  a  fire  drill  was.  One  owner  of  an  underwear 
factory  casually  referred  to  a  fire  that  had  oc- 
curred in  his  factory  on  the  preceding  Sunday, 

67 


; 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 


when  he  had  violated  two  legal  provisions  by  allow- 
ing women  to  work  seven  days  a  week  and  permit- 

[  ting  smoking  in  the  workroom. 

New  York  City  has  witnessed  several  horrible 
factory  fires,  one  of  the  worst  being  the  Triangle 
fire  in  19 12  in  which  147  women  lost  their  lives. 
Even  with  strict  enforcement  of  the  best  regula- 
tions, serious  accidents  may  occur.  But  workers 
should  be  protected  as  far  as  lies  within  human 

^power.     Narrow,   wooden,   unenclosed   stairways 
such  as  were  found  in  one  loft  after  the  other 

1  even  where  paper,  cloth,  and  other  highly  inflam- 
mable materials  are  handled,  provide  inadequate 
and  dangerous  exits;  piles  of  stock  in  front  of 
windows  and  doors,  the  crowding  together  of 
machines  and  chairs,  so  that  workers  could  not 
pass  freely  in  or  out;  unprotected  gas  flames  near 
inflammable  material,  and  smoking  increase  the 
danger.  It  was  obvious  every  day  to  the  visitors 
that  it  is  not  enough  to  have  laws  upon  the  statute 
books  providing  protection  against  all  these  condi- 
tions;  they  must  be  enforced. 

The  workrooms  represented  every  stage  in  the 
development  of  the  factory  system.  In  one  in- 
stance three  women  sat  making  candy  in  what 
had  formerly  been  a  flat  in  an  apartment  house, 
while  a  few  blocks  away  some  500  were  employed 
in  an  eight-story  building  where  they  had  the 
kitest  equipment  in  the  way  of  an  automatic 
sprinkler  system,  fire  doors,  excellent  lighting, 
ample  space,  and  a  ventilating  system.    Employers 

68 


■ 

WORK    PLACES* 

ranged  from  the  man  who  could  scarcely  under- 
stand a  word  of  English,  knew  nothing  of  the  prob- 
lem of  industrial  betterment  but  only  how  the  work 
should  be  done,  was  entirely  unconcerned  about 
conditions  and  recognized  no  personal  responsibil- 
ity for  those  in  his  workroom,  to  the  man  who 
had  given  time  and  thought  to  provide  the  best 
conditions  possible  for  his  workers,  and  who  recog- 
nized a  responsibility  for  their  welfare  as  well  as 
for  payment  of  their  wages. 

Lighting  and  Sanitation:  Good  light  conduces 
not  only  to  better  health  but  to  better  work. 
Some  employers,  however,  had  failed  to  grasp 
this  relation,  while  others  had  installed  the  best 
lighting  devices  known.  In  nearly  a  sixth  of  the 
workrooms  the  investigator,  even  without  any 
scientific  analysis,  could  pronounce  the  light  bad, 
while  in  others  it  was  only  fair  and  had  to  be 
supplemented  by  artificial  means.  Four  of  the* 
shops  required  artificial  lighting  for  all  workers 
throughout  the  day;  in  others,  only  the  workers  in 
certain  parts  of  the  room  were  so  handicapped. 
The  matter  is  the  more  serious  as  two-thirds  of 
the  workrooms  with  bad  lighting  were  in  the  needle 
industry,  where  practically  every  process  is  a  strain 
on  the  eyes,  from  the  incessant  watching  for  nine 
hours  a  day,  often  on  dark  materials,  of  the  rap- 
idly moving  needle  of  the  sewing  machine  to  hand 
sewing  and  finishing.  

A  large  underwear  factory  was  an  example  of 
good  conditions.     Here  the  majority  of  the  work 

69 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

was  done  on  the  top  floor  where  light  came  through 
large  windows  and  skylights.  Electric  drop  lights 
hung  over  the  tables,  so  close  together  that  when 
artificial  lighting  was  needed  no  shadows  were 
cast.  Some  employers  who  had  made  a  serious 
study  of  the  problem  of  lighting  had  not  only 
installed  the  very  latest  devices,  but  had  placed 
them  to  the  best  advantage  of  the  work  and  the 
workers.  In  many  cases,  however,  while  the  light 
was  adequate,  the  employer  had  displayed  little 
judgment  in  the  placing  of  his  workers,  so  that 
girls  doing  work  requiring  little  eye-strain  were 
seated  by  the  windows  with  the  best  light,  while 
others  doing  work  requiring  close  application  were 
farther  back  in  the  room.  Not  only  in  this  re- 
spect but  in  others,  with  some  thought  and  better 
management,  conditions  for  the  workers  could  have 
been  much  improved  without  extra  expense. 

Ventilation  also  received  very  little  attention  in 
most  of  the  factories.  Windows  usually  furnished 
the  sole  ventilating  system,  so  that  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  day  and  time  of  year  determined 
whether  workrooms  were  well  ventilated  or  not. 
In  only  one  of  the  factories  seen  in  the  needle 
trades  was  ventilation  scientifically  controlled. 
Fifteen  of  the  Italian  girls  investigated  were  at 
work  in  this  factory.  The  investigator,  who  was 
a  physician,  ascribed  to  this  system  their  good 
physical  condition.  They  seemed  to  enjoy  their 
work  in  spite  of  its  monotony.  In  marked  con- 
trast  to  the  healthy  look  of  these  workers  were 

70 


WORK    PLACES 

the  stooped  shoulders  and  depressed  air  of  women 
in  other  shops  where  windows  could  not  be  opened 
without  creating  a  draft  for  someone,  and  were 
consequently  kept  closed.  While  employers  were 
apt  to  lay  the  blame  for  bad  air  upon  the  workers 
who  objected  to  open  windows,  yet  they  might 
have  solved  the  problem  by  providing  a  better 
system.  For  instance,  in  one  factory  the  panes  of 
glass  in  some  windows  were  so  adjusted  that  they 
might  be  turned  to  admit  air  without  a  direct 
draft.  With  the  installation  of  some  such  simple 
device,  the  welfare  of  large  groups  of  workers 
could  be  materially  bettered.  It  was  frequently 
impressed  upon  the  visitors  that  a  very  little 
thought  and  foresight  in  these  problems  of  phys- 
ical surroundings  would  have  added  much  to  the 
comfort,  well-being,  and  efficiency  of  the  worker. 
The  same  lack  of  organization  appeared  in  such 
a  simple  problem  as  the  cleaning  of  the  work- 
rooms. About  a  fifth  of  the  factories  were  re- 
corded as  "dirty"  for  the  usual  reason  that  there 
was  no  definite  system  of  cleaning.  Sometimes 
this  devolved  upon  an  errand  boy  who  rushed 
through  the  work  after  the  employes  had  gone. 
In  some  of  the  larger  factories  a  man  or  woman 
was  employed  during  the  day  to  clean  while  the 
work  was  going  on.  One  girl  had  complained  that 
"in  her  place"  the  boy  swept  without  dampening 
the  floor,  so  that  the  workers  sat  in  the  dust.  This 
particular  "cleaning  system"  was  seen  in  operation 
during  one  of  the  visits.    In  other  cases  the  nature 

7' 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

of  the  product  rather  than  any  concern  for  the 
workers  required  that  the  workroom  be  kept  clean, 
and  that  this  be  done  when  the  materials  were  not 
exposed. 

Noise:  The  physical  discomfort  and  actual  effect 
of  noise  on  the  human  machine  varies.  Workers 
often  become  accustomed  to  a  constant  noise  and 
are  disturbed  when  it  ceases.  Nevertheless,  a  per- 
son can  do  a  higher  grade  of  work  when  the  func- 
tion of  the  auditory  nerve  does  not  have  to  be 
suppressed.  Young  girls  who  try  power-machine 
operating  leave  the  work,  even  though  they  like 
it,  because  they  cannot  endure  the  noise.  Where 
it  cannot  be  eliminated  it  should  be  reduced  to  a 
minimum.  More  than  half  of  the  shops  visited 
were  noisy,  and  a  large  part  of  these  were  in  the 
sewing  trades,  where  the  power  machines  pound 
away  at  great  speed.  That  the  noise  can  be  largely 
controlled  is  shown  by  a  special  make  of  machine 
so  constructed  as  to  be  practically  noiseless.  This 
machine  suggests  the  possibility  of  improvement 
in  the  other  machines. 

Seats:  New  York  State  laws  require  that  every 
person  employing  women  in  a  factory  shall,  where 
practicable,  provide  and  maintain  suitable  seats 
with  proper  backs;  and  where  women  are  en- 
gaged in  work  which  can  be  properly  performed  in 
a  sitting  posture,  these  seats  shall  be  supplied  and 
permission  given  to  use  them.  Conditions,  how- 
ever, vary  widely  from  the  legal  standards.  In 
some   industries,   as   for   instance   in   the   sewing 

72 


WORK    PLACES 

trades,  the  nature  of  the  processes  requires  that 
most  of  the  workers  must  be  seated,  although  in 
one  underwear  factory  visited,  only  the  machine 
operators  and  finishers  were  seated,  while  the 
examiners,  packers,  and  pressers  had  to  stand  all 
day.  In  a  petticoat  factory  a  few  blocks  away 
all  the  women  were  sitting  at  their  work,  even  the 
pressers  and  folders.  It  was  the  first  time  the 
visitor  had  ever  seen  pressers  sit  at  their  work. 
All  the  other  pressers  interviewed  complained  of 
the  fatigue  and  strain  due  to  continual  standing. 
It  is  a  curious  thing  that  employers  can  devise 
reasons  for  customs  that  seem  to  have  no  basis. 
Regarding  the  hand  chocolate  dipping,  one  em- 
ployer said,  "Girls  are  obliged  to  stand  to  get  the 
swaying  motion  of  the  body  necessary  to  perform 
their  work  properly."  But  in  a  large  factory 
nearby,  70  girls  were  doing  a  perfectly  satisfactory 
job  in  this  line,  comfortably  seated  in  chairs  with 
backs.  People  might  well  do  without  the  fancy 
curls  on  chocolates  if  they  can  be  obtained  only 
at  the  cost  of  the  strain  upon  women  who  must 
stand  continually  at  their  work. 

Factories  were  visited  where  women  were  re- 
quired to  stand,  engaged  in  steaming  or  selecting 
feathers,  packing  feathers,  crackers,  candy,  cigars 
or  clothing,  cleaning  and  sponging  men's  clothing, 
basting  men's  clothing,  examining,  pressing,  mang- 
ling, cutting,  fitting,  boning  corsets,  drafting, 
grading  and  counting  paper  patterns,  hand  folding, 
hand  stamping  on  stationery,  hand  labeling,  weigh- 

73 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

ing  cereals,  folding  silk,  filling  and  capping  olive 
oil  bottles,  hand  gathering  of  books,  tending  vari- 
ous kinds  of  machines,  like  weaving,  winding, 
knitting,  embroidery  and  labeling  machines,  and 
hanging  curtains.  The  very  name  of  the  process 
indicates  that  the  work  in  some  cases  cannot  be 
done  seated,  such  as  fitting  and  serving  as  a  model. 
Even  when  seats  were  provided  they  were  fre- 
quently without  backs,  and  hence  did  not  ade- 
quately protect  the  women  from  strain  and  fatigue. 

Some  ingenuity  and  thought,  if  the  employer 
is  at  all  concerned  over  the  health  and  comfort 
of  his  workers,  could  certainly  provide  seats  for 
practically  all  the  women  whom  we  saw  standing 
at  their  work  day  after  day.  For  example,  an 
employer  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  invented  a  chair 
which  slid  on  a  track  so  that  the  worker  tending 
a  series  of  machines  could  move  along  from  one 
machine  to  the  next.  The  length  of  the  working 
day,  moreover,  made  standing  all  the  more  in- 
jurious.1 

Lunch  Rooms:  The  installation  of  a  lunch  room 
or  some  facilities  for  providing  the  workers  with  a 
proper  lunch,  is  a  good  paying  investment.  Em- 
ployers who  had  had  enough  initiative  to  give 
their  workers  a  full  hour  at  noon,  with  a  chance 
for  recreation,  or  who  had  provided  an  open  space 
on  the  roof  where  the  workers  could  walk  about 
and  get  fresh  air,  showed  themselves  good  busi- 
ness men,  for  the  workers  came  back  to  their  ma- 

'For  discussion  of  working  hours,  see  Chapter  V,  pp.  82-107. 
74 


WORK    PLACES 

chines  and  work  tables  with  renewed  energy  and 
interest.  The  same  is  true  of  the  employer  who, 
if  he  cannot  provide  a  lunch  room,  at  least  ar- 
ranges so  that  the  workers  may  get  something 
hot,  like  tea,  coffee,  cocoa  or  soup. 

One  underwear  manufacturer  provided  a  sepa- 
rate lunch  room  where  employes  could  get  soup 
and  coffee  at  two  and  a  half  cents  a  cup  and  al- 
lowed no  one  to  eat  in  the  workroom,  thus  pro- 
tecting his  goods  against  stains.  The  shop  of 
another  underwear  manufacturer  was  so  crowded 
that  he  could  not  have  a  separate  lunch  room,  but 
he  had  also  found  it  profitable  to  provide  tables 
for  lunch  in  one  part  of  the  workroom,  with  a 
woman  to  make  coffee  at  noon.  No  worker  was 
allowed  to  eat  at  her  machine.  In  a  large  corset 
factory  on  Broadway  a  lunch  room  with  a  counter 
where  hot  dishes  were  procurable,  was  situated  on 
each  floor.  Shops  with  such  facilities,  however, 
were  few.  In  most  cases,  a  visitor  happening  in  at 
lunch  time  would  find  the  workers  sitting  at  their 
machines  or  tables  eating  a  cold  lunch  brought 
from  home  or  bought  from  the  factory  peddler 
who  deals  largely  in  pies,  pickles,  apples,  and 
cand}'.  Occasionally  a  large,  dirty  coffee  or  tea 
pot  provided  by  the  workers  supplied  all  with  a 
cup  of  "something  hot." 

TYPICAL  SHOPS 

A  description  of  certain  typical  shops  will  sum- 
marize more  effectively  than  any  mere  generaliza- 

6  75 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

tion  the  actual  conditions  under  which  these  Ital- 
ian women  toiled.  A  shop  of  the  better  class 
where  all  the  35  women  employed  were  Italians 
was  located  on  the  seventh  floor  of  a  new  12-story 
loft  building.  The  workroom  was  clean  and  well 
lighted  and  the  workers,  who  were  putting  hand 
embroidery  on  dresses  and  waists,  were  provided 
with  comfortable  chairs  with  backs.  In  the  fifty- 
four-hour  week  experienced  women  averaged  about 
$12,  although  some  earned  as  much  as  $15.  The 
season  lasted  from  September  to  May,  and  only 
10  workers  were  kept  during  the  slack  period. 
"We  lay  off  every  worker  we  don't  need,"  was 
the  policy,  the  employer  explained.  "The  Italians 
are  wonderfully  efficient  in  this  work.  We  use 
only  Italians.  They  seem  to  have  the  ability  born 
in  them  and  trained  in  them  from  their  earliest 
childhood."  This  shop  was  visited  because  a 
fourteen-year-old  girl  was  working  a  fifty-four-hour 
week  at  a  wage  of  $5 .00.  She  had  no  certificate  and 
was  employed  in  violation  of  the  law  that  no  per- 
son under  sixteen  may  be  employed  without  work- 
ing papers,  nor  for  more  than  forty-eight  hours  a 
week. 

Only  four  of  the  40  women  employed  in  a  cer- 
tain chocolate  factory  on  Greenwich  Street  were 

Italian.  The  employer  explained  that  Italians 
could  not  get  the  uniformity  necessary  in  hand 
dipping.  "They  seem  to  lack  the  knack  of  get- 
ting the  same  twist  on  the  top  of  each  chocolate." 

The  workroom  was  light,  clean,  and  well  venti- 

76 


WORK    PLACES 

lated,  and  the  floor  was  covered  with  sawdust  and 
swept  out  every  day.  About  20  girls  were  sitting 
at  tables,  deftly  dipping  bonbons  and  cherries 
into  chocolate.  The  girls  earned  $7.00  to  $10  a 
week.  Six  girls  were  standing  at  a  table  placing 
each  piece  of  chocolate  in  a  round  paper  dish  and 
packing  180  in  a  box.  A  rapid  worker  could  pack 
60  to  70  boxes  a  day.  Two  other  girls  were  also 
standing  as  they  labeled  boxes,  for  which  they 
were  paid  $6.50  a  week.  No  girls  under  sixteen 
years  of  age  were  hired.  The  time  schedule  was 
a  nine-hour  day,  or  fifty-three  and  a  half  hours  a 
week.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  shop  had  been 
much  disturbed  by  girls  coming  in  late,  a  system 
of  fines  had  been  instituted  whereby  anyone  five 
minutes  late  was  fined  for  half  an  hour's  time. 

Italians,  as  has  been  already  stated,  were  not 
found  in  unskilled  work  only.  In  a  shop  where 
35  girls  were  doing  fine  engraving  on  stationery 
and  checks,  only  two  Italians  were  employed,  but 
one  of  these  was  the  most  expert  and  best  paid 
worker.  Hand  stamping,  the  most  skilled  pro- 
cess, requires  at  least  a  year's  training,  although 
each  worker  is  taught  all  the  processes,  including 
machine  stamping,  examining,  and  packing.  Ex- 
perienced workers  made  $14  to  $16  in  the  week  of 
fifty-three  and  a  half  hours.  The  shop  was  in  a 
well  lighted,  modern  loft  building. 

Poor  working  conditions  for  women  workers 
were  found  in  a  contractor's  shop  manufacturing 
boys'  knee  pants,  situated  in  an  old  factory  build- 

77 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

ing  with  wooden  stairs  and  dingy  windows.  Fifty 
men  were  busy  operating  power  sewing  machines 
and  pressing,  while  near  the  windows  in  a  corner 
sat  six  women  "busheling,"  five  of  whom  were 
Italian.  In  the  fifty-four-hour  week,  the  maximum 
allowed  by  law,  they  could  make  as  high  as  $9.00, 
but  usually  their  earnings  fell  below  this.  For 
instance,  one  girl  seventeen  years  old  had  earned 
only  $5.00  in  the  week  before  she  was  interviewed, 
although  she  had  illegally  worked  sixty-one  hours 
that  week.  The  men  had  been  able  to  organize, 
but  the  women  had  not. 

Italians  predominated  in  one  of  the  best  shops 
in  the  underwear  trade,  occupying  a  corner  loft 
on  East  Sixteenth  Street.  Here  75  women  were 
engaged  in  operating  whirring  power  machines, 
finishing,  ribboning,  cutting  out  embroidery,  or 
pressing  stacks  of  dainty  white  muslin  underwear. 
"Italians  are  very  quick  workers  and  I  am  glad 
to  get  them,"  said  the  superintendent.  The  work- 
room had  excellent  light,  and  the  workers  were  so 
placed  that  they  got  the  most  benefit  from  it. 
There  was  a  fire-alarm  system  and  fire  drills  were 
held  regularly  under  trained  supervision.  Al- 
though the  shop  was  on  a  fifty-hour  weekly  basis, 
the  employer  managed  to  get  his  orders  out  with- 
out overtime  or  home  work,  and  to  keep  his  force 
together  the  year  through.  No  one  under  sixteen 
years  of  age  was  employed,  and  the  minimum  wage 
for  beginners  was  $5.00  a  week.  Sample  makers 
could  earn  $15   a  week  steadily,  while  machine 

78 


WORK    PLACES 

operators  usually  made  between  $12  and  $15  at 
piece  work.  Even  the  two  girls  who  had  been 
interviewed,  although  only  seventeen  years  old, 
were  earning  $10.50  and  $14  a  week.  The  work 
in  this  line  was  skilled  and  required  training  and 
practice. 

Three  other  young  girls  had  been  less  fortunate 
in  the  shops  in  which  they  had  chanced  to  find 
work.  All  still  under  sixteen  years  of  age,  they 
had  drifted  into  the  shipping  department  of  a 
factory  where  the  sole  work  for  the  75  girls  em- 
ployed was  pasting  on  labels  and  packing  into 
boxes  the  bolts  of  ribbon  which  came  to  the  de- 
partment complete  except  for  this  one  process. 
The  girls  were  paid  $3.50  to  $4.50  a  week.  It  was 
a  typical  blind  alley  occupation  where  50  new 
"learners"  were  engaged  every  year.  This  one 
process  took  only  a  few  hours  to  learn,  and  the 
only  requirement  was  that  girls  must  know  how 
to  read  in  order  to  put  on  the  correct  labels  of 
individual  firms.  Only  four  of  the  girls  in  the 
shop  were  as  old  as  nineteen  years.  When  girls 
asked  for  an  increase  they  were  encouraged  to 
find  better  paying  work,  as  the  highest  wage  paid 
here  was  $7.00  a  week.  The  force  was  kept  busy 
all  the  year  and  the  firm  was  constantly  advertis- 
ing for  more.  The  only  compensation  for  the 
blind  alley  nature  of  the  work  was  the  excellent 
workroom  and  a  weekly  schedule  of  only  forty- 
four  and  a  half  hours.  The  crowd  of  young  girls, 
standing  or  sitting  around  the  long  tables,  many 

79 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

with  their  hair  hanging  in  braids  or  curls,  so  that 
they  looked  like  children,  made  the  room  appear 
little  like  a  factory  where  workers  might  expect  a 
well  paid  future.  The  majority  of  the  girls  were 
American  born,  with  only  10  Italian  born  among 
them. 

In  a  long,  narrow  room,  down  on  Cherry  Street, 
lighted  only  by  a  skylight,  two  Italian  women  were 
found  standing  and  bendiitg  while  they  sorted 
bales  of  dusty  waste  paper.  Neither  could  speak 
a  word  of  English  and  neither  knew  that  they  were 
violating  any  law  because  they  worked  ten  and  a 
half  hours  every  day,  from  seven  in  the  morning 
until  six  at  night.  They  only  knew  that  at  the 
end  of  a  week's  work  the  Italian  owner,  who  was  a 
friend,  handed  them  each  a  five-dollar  bill. 

In  an  ostrich  feather  shop  on  Twelfth  Street, 
owned  by  an  Italian,  almost  all  the  30  girls  were 
Italian,  some  of  whom  could  not  speak  English. 
They  were  seated  at  their  work  of  selecting,  scrap- 
ing, sewing,  steaming,  and  curling  feathers  and 
plumes.  In  a  week  of  forty-nine  and  a  half  hours 
the  majority  could  earn  $10  to  $12,  but  they  often 
supplemented  their  wages  with  earnings  from  over- 
time or  home  work.  At  other  times,  however,  they 
might  work  only  two  or  three  days  a  week,  but  the 
entire  force  was  kept.  Although  the  workshop  was 
located  in  a  remodeled  dwelling,  the  girls  could  get 
good  light  at  their  work  and  the  place  was  fairly 
clean  except  for  the  usual  litter  that  accompanies 
feather  making. 

80 


WORK    PLACES 

One  girl  had  been  working  for  a  year  as  exam- 
iner on  sweaters  in  a  loft  on  Wooster  Street  where 
she  earned  $10  to  $i  i  a  week.  She  was  found  busy 
at  work  among  some  75  other  women  and  girls  of 
whom  10  or  12  were  Italian.  In  the  rear  of  the  loft 
were  weavers,  and  in  the  front  sewing  machine  oper- 
ators. In  the  middle  were  winders,  who  unfortun- 
ately had  to  work  by  gaslight  all  day  in  air  filled 
with  a  fine  dust  from  the  yarn  and  worsted  used. 
Although  the  dust  had  not  caused  any  special  dis- 
ease the  owner  felt  that  it  was  probably  injurious, 
but  did  not  know  how  to  get  rid  of  it.  Sewing  ma- 
chines were  carefully  provided  with  skirt  guards 
and  foot  rests,  and  all  workers  who  sat  had  chairs 
with  backs.  But  women  who  were  tending  wind- 
ing and  knitting  machines  as  well  as  examiners  and 
folders,  stood  at  their  work  through  the  day  of 
eight  and  three-fourths  hours.  "We  have  about 
a  fifty-one-hour  week.  Soon  it  will  be  the  eight- 
hour  day  and  that  will  give  the  employes  time  really 
to  live."  Women  were  not  yet  organized  in  this 
trade,  but  the  employer  believed  the  time  not  far 
distant  when  they  would  be.  With  a  minimum  age 
of  sixteen,  a  minimum  wage  of  $5.00  when  many  of 
his  competitors  were  still  paying  $3.50  or  $4.00,  a 
week  of  fifty-one  hours  and  an  attempt  to  keep  his 
workers  steadily,  to  safeguard  the  machinery  and 
to  provide  the  best  work  conditions  he  knew  how, 
he  offers  an  example  of  the  employer  who  finds  it 
compatible  with  his  business  principles  to  provide 
decent  conditions  as  far  as  he  understands  them. 

81 


CHAPTER  V 
HOURS  OF  WORK 

THE  importance  of  the  length  of  the  working 
day  has  been  brought  home  to  us  more  for- 
cibly today  than  ever  before.  The  war,  with 
its  sudden  demand  for  the  production  of  supplies 
in  large  volume,  has  taught  us  that  long  hours  do 
not  necessarily  mean  increased  output,  but  on  the 
contrary,  are  bad  for  both  the  product  and  the 
workers.  For  a  number  of  years  labor  unions  in 
the  United  States  have  been  demanding  the  "three 
eights" — eight  hours  of  work,  eight  hours  of  leis- 
ure, and  eight  hours  of  sleep.  Six  states  and  the 
District  of  Columbia  have  already  passed  laws 
limiting  to  eight  the  daily  number  of  hours  which 
women  may  work.  When  this  investigation  was 
begun,  the  New  York  State  law  prohibited  the 
employment  of  women  in  factories  more  than  ten 
hours  a  day  for  six  days  a  week.  In  October,  19 12, 
the  daily  limit  was  reduced  to  nine,  and  the  weekly 
from  sixty  to  fifty-four  hours.  Children  under  six- 
teen are  also  protected  by  a  provision  that  they 
may  not  work  more  than  eight  hours  a  day  for  six 
days,  or  forty-eight  hours  a  week,  nor  before  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning  or  after  five  o'clock  in  the 
evening.    The  hours  in  some  industries  in  which  a 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

number  of  the  Italian  women  were  found  to  be 
employed  were  still  further  limited  by  trade  union 
action.  Nevertheless  the  daily  hours  for  women 
sixteen  years  of  age  and  over,  as  given  in  Table  7, 
below,  show  how  far  industry  was  from  the  stan- 
dard of  an  eight-hour  day. 

TABLE    7. — DAILY    HOURS    OF    WORK    FOR    ITALIAN 
WOMEN  WORKERS    l6  YEARS  OF  AGE  OR  MORE 


Women  who  work  daily 

Industry 

Less 
than 

8 
hours 

8 

hours 
and 
less 

than  9 

9 

hours 

and 

less 

than 

10 

10 
hours 

or 
more 

All 
women 

Manufacturing 

Flowers  and  feathers 
Men's  and  boys'  clothing 
Women's     and     children's 
clothing     .... 
Paper  goods 

Candy           .... 
Tobacco  and  foodstuffs 
Headwear     .... 
Miscellaneous  manufactured 
goods         .... 

Office  and  store  work 

3 
1 

4 

3 
10 

46 
9 

48 

13 

1 

20 

19 

37 
15 

76 
39 

241 

42 

3' 
26 
12 

81 
9 

25 

3 

6 

22 

5 
1 

2 
1 

125 
74 

296 
61 
54 
5i 
32 

123 
35 

Total 

21 

208 

557 

65 

851a 

a  Of  the  920  women  sixteen  years  old  or  more  engaged  in  manu- 
facturing, 69  did  not  supply  information  as  to  daily  hours  of  work. 

From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  out  of 
the  group  of  85  1  women  sixteen  years  and  over, 
about  a  fourth  worked  less  than  nine  hours  a  day^ 
while  8  per  cent  were  working  as  long  as  ten  hours 
or  more.    The  women  in  the  candy  industry  fared 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

worst,  for  22  out  of  54  workers,  or  41  per  cent,  had 
a  ten-hour  daily  schedule.  Men's  and  boys'  cloth- 
ing ranked  second,  with  25  out  of  74,  or  a  third, 
working  ten  hours  or  more.  In  the  latter  trade 
one  woman  was  working  regularly  eleven  hours  a 
day,  and  another  even  twelve  hours. 

The  weekly  hours  of  work  for  the  women  of  all 
ages  are  given  in  Table  8. 

TABLE  8. — WEEKLY   HOURS   OF   WORK    FOR   ITALIAN 
WOMEN  WORKERS,   BY  AGE 


Women  who  were 

All 

Less  than 

16  years 

women 

Weekly 

hours  of  work 

1 6  years 

or  more 

Num- 

Per 

Num- 

Per 

Num- 

Per 

ber 

cent 

ber 

cent 

ber 

cent 

48  hours  or 

less 

25 

28.1 

80 

10.7 

114 

12.4 

More  than 

48  and 

not  more 

than  50 

to 

1 1.2 

128 

15.4 

138 

15.0 

More  than 

50  and 

not  more 

than  52 

'3 

14.6 

1 1 1 

13-4 

124 

"3-5 

More  than 

52  and 

not  more 

than  54 

20 

22.5 

267 

32.1 

287 

312 

More  than 

54  and 

not  more 

than  56 

'4 

'5-7 

.48 

.7.8 

162 

.7.6 

More  than 

56  and 

not  more 

than  58 

3 

3-4 

34 

4-1 

37 

4.0 

More  than 

58  and 

not  more 

than  00 

4 

4-5 

37 

4-5 

41 

4-5 

60  hours  or 

more 

'7 

2.0 

■7 

1.8 

Total           .... 

89 

1 00.0 

83. 

100.0 

92  oa 

1 00.0 

•'  Ol  the  1,027  women  engaged  in  manufacturing,  t8  under  sixteen 
anil  So  sixteen  years  old  or  more  did  not  report  weekly  hours  of  work, 
and  three  reported  irregular  hours. 

Libit-   (S   shows   that   72   per  cent   of   the  girls 
under  sixteen  were  working  more  than  forty-eight 

84 


w*^ 


HOURS    OF    WORK 


hours,  the  limit  set  for  them  by  the  New  York  State 
legislature,  and  that  nearly  24  per  cent  were  even 
exceeding  fifty-four  hours,  the  legal  limit  for  their 
older  working  sisters.  Of  the  women  sixteen  years 
and  older,  over  28  per  cent  had  a  week  of  more 
than  fifty-four  hours  and  17,  or  2  per  cent,  worked 
as  much  as  sixty  hours  or  more. 

The  statistics  in  the  two  preceding  tables  are 
based  on  statements  made  by  the  workers  them- 
selves. Information  given  by  employers  and  pre- 
sented in  Table  9  shows  a  somewhat  more  favor- 
able picture. 

None  of  the  shops  reported  a  week  as  long  as 
sixty  hours.  The  two  extremes  were  represented 
by  the  12  per  cent  of  women  who  were  in  shops 
where  they  worked  forty-eight  hours  or  less  per 
week,  and  the  10  per  cent  whose  weekly  hours 
exceeded  fifty-four.  In  the  latter  group  were 
included  a  few  shops  visited  before  the  fifty- 
four-hour  law  went  into  effect.  It  is  to  be  noted, 
however,  that  a  large  proportion  of  women  was 
employed  in  shops  which  maintained  almost  the 
maximum  number  of  hours  allowed  by  law.  Nearly 
50  per  cent  of  the  women  were  in  shops  where  the 
weekly  hours  were  over  fifty-two  but  did  not  ex- 
ceed fifty-four  hours.  In  the  candy  industry,  94 
per  cent  of  the  women  were  working  over  fifty- 
two  hours  a  week,  and  only  a  few  were  in  factories 
where  a  week  of  forty-eight  hours  or  less  was  the 
rule.  In  the  women's  tailored  garment  industry, 
on  the  other  hand,  95  per  cent  worked  fifty-two 

85 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

hours  or  less  per  week.     As  a  result  of  the  new 
law1  and  the  strike  in  the  men's  clothing  industry, 


TABLE  9. — MAXIMUM  FORCE  OF  WOMEN  EMPLOYED 
IN  FACTORIES  INVESTIGATED,  BY  INDUSTRY  AND 
WEEKLY  HOURS  OF  WORK 


Women  employed  in  factories 

whose  weekly  hours  were 

More 

More 

More 

than 

than 

than 

Industry 

48  or 

48 
but 

52 
but 

54 
but 

Total 

less 

not 

not 

not 

more 

more 

more 

than 

than 

than 

52 

54 

60 

Flowers  and  feathers    . 
Men's  and  boys'  clothing   . 
Women's  tailored  garments 

292 

25 
45 

398 
622 
106 

184 

999 
8 

874 
1,646 

'59 

Dresses  and  waists 

450 

450 

All  other  women's  and  chil- 

dren's clothing  . 
Paper  goods  .... 

Candy     

Tobacco  and  foodstuffs 
Headwear      .... 

580 
672 

50 
521 

70 

2,532 

221 

60 

575 
129 

1,127 

778 
'.785 
2,783 

861 

1,300 

20 

200 

60 

5,539 
1,671 

1.915 

4-079 

1,120 

Textiles   and    miscellaneous 

sewed  materials 
Rubber,    fur,    and    leather 

.63 

482 

990 

436 

2,071 

goods  

Miscellaneous  manufactured 

>7 

167 

133 

9 

326 

goods  

80 

38 

597 

6 

72  1 

Total                     Number 

2,5 1  5 

5,780 

10,245 

2,031 

20,571 

ou               •       Per  cent 

12.2 

28.1 

49.8 

9.9 

I  OO.O 

which  had  occurred  shortly  before  the  shops  in 
this  industry  were  visited,  the  length  of  the  work- 
ing week  had  been  considerably  reduced.     When 


1  Passed  October,  1912. 
86 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

the  Italian  women  in  this  trade  had  been  inter- 
viewed previously,  they  had  reported  long  hours  of 
work,  some  working  up  to  or  exceeding  the  sixty- 
hour  legal  limit.  When  the  shops  were  visited  no 
women  were  working  over  fifty-four  hours,  and  39 
per  cent  were  in  shops  with  a  working  week  of  not 
more  than  fifty-two  hours. 

REST  PERIODS 

During  the  course  of  the  nine-  or  ten-hour  day 
the  women  frequently  did  not  have  a  rest  period 
of  a  full  hour  at  noon.  Only  283,  or  less  than  a 
third  of  the  95 1  women  reporting,  enjoyed  a  full 
hour;  457  had  only  half  an  hour,  while  the  re- 
mainder had  usually  about  forty-five  minutes. 
The  New  York  law  requires  that  in  each  factory 
at  least  sixty  minutes  be  allowed  for  the  noon- 
day meal,  unless  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  shall 
permit  a  shorter  period.  So  many  employers  are 
granted  such  permits,  however,  that  the  law  is 
of  little  significance.  A  half  hour  at  noon  con- 
demns the  worker  to  a  cold  lunch  eaten  perhaps 
on  her  work  table,  and  is  far  too  short  a  time  for 
her  to  relax  or  to  get  out  into  the  open  air.  This 
fact  is  all  the  more  important  since  many  of  the 
processes  are  so  highly  specialized  that  the  opera- 
tion requires  only  a  limited  number  of  motions  of 
the  hand  or  arm,  and  the  other  muscles  of  the 
body  remain  inactive.  The  work  needs  also  con- 
stant attention  and  concentration,  often  continu- 
ous watching  of  a  needle  or  a  machine.     In  such 

87 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

monotonous  work,  with  endless  repetition,  a  reason- 
able rest  period  is  needed  to  permit  some  mental 
activity,  and  an  opportunity  to  reverse  the  physi- 
cal action  and  to  rest  the  muscles  and  nerves. 

OVERTIME  HOURS 

Daily  and  weekly  hours  of  work  were  very  often 
extended  by  overtime  and  home  work.  Among 
262  who  gave  information  on  this  subject,  50  em- 
ployers admitted  resorting  to  overtime  and  32 
asked  their  workers  to  take  work  home  when  they 
were  busy.  Seven  firms  reported  both  overtime 
and  home  work.  The  nature  of  the  industry  deter- 
mined to  some  extent  the  prevalence  of  extra  time, 
although  the  business  ability  of  the  employer 
seemed  to  be  a  vital  and  governing  factor.  In 
the  same  industry  there  were  employers  who  had 
managed  to  organize  their  work  so  that  overtime 
was  not  necessary,  while  others  insisted  that  they 
must  require  it  or  go  out  of  business. 

Of  894  women  who  reported  whether  or  not 
they  had  had  to  work  overtime  in  their  last  posi- 
tion, 367  reported  "Yes,"  and  527,  "No."  The 
industries  in  which  the  "yeas"  outnumbered  the 
"nays"  were  the  manufacture  of  women's  tailored 
garments,  dresses,  shirtwaists,  petticoats,  kimonos, 
candy  and  bookbinderies,  laundries,  and  depart- 
ment stores.  The  industry  with  the  largest  propor- 
tion of  women  who  had  had  overtime  was  laundry 
work,  with  wholesale  dressmaking  ranking  second. 

The  period  of  overtime  ranged  from  a  week  to 
88 


•7 

HOURS    OF    WORK 

twelve  months  in  the  year.  Among  269  women 
who  reported  definitely  how  many  months  in  the 
year  they  had  worked  overtime,  41  had  worked 
overtime  for  less  than  four  weeks,  70  for  a  month, 
71  for  two  months,  59  for  three  months,  and  21 
for  four,  five,  or  six  months.  Seven  women — three 
in  laundries,  one  in  a  department  store,  one  in  a 
bookbindery,  one  in  a  towel  supply  company,  and 
one  in  a  men's  clothing  factory,  had  worked  over- 
time during  the  whole  twelve  months. 

Nor  was  such  overtime  merely  casual.  If  we 
examine  the  number  of  nights  they  had  been  ex- 
pected to  work  in  any  one  week,  we  find  that  only 
27  out  of  320  reporting  on  this  point,  or  only  one 
in  12,  had  worked  but  one  night  a  week,  while 
seven  others  had  worked  extra  time  on  Sundays 
only.  Two  nights  a  week  had  been  the  rule  for 
79  of  these  women  but  the  large  majority,  206,  or 
nearly  two-thirds,  had  been  at  work  three  nights 
or  even  oftener  during  these  periods  of  overtime. 
In  fact,  13  had  worked  as  many  as  six  nights  a 
week  in  addition  to  their  regular  weekly  hours; 
and  three  of  these  had  worked  on  Sundays  as  well. 
These  1  3  women  were  employed  in  a  department 
store,  in  an  office,  in  a  photograph  studio,  and  in 
shops  manufacturing  men's  clothing,  straw  hats, 
shirtwaists,  hand  embroidery,  paper  boxes,  and 
candy. 

Nor  was  the  overtime  for  only  an  hour  or  so 
in  order  to  finish  up  work;  frequently  it  extended 
far  into  the  night.     In  December,  1912,  or  three 

89 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

months  after  the  fifty-four  hour  a  week  law  for 
factory  women  went  into  effect,  one  seventeen- 
year-old  candy  maker  was  working  regularly  fifty- 
six  hours  a  week,  with  frequent  overtime  until 
9  p.  m.  The  day's  work  totaled  thirteen  hours. 
In  addition  she  also  worked  occasionally  on  Sun- 
days. Her  task  consisted  of  packing  chocolates, 
at  which  she  had  to  stand  all  day.  Another  girl, 
also  only  seventeen,  employed  in  an  ostrich  feather 
shop,  worked  three  times  a  week  until  9  p.  m.  in 
addition  to  a  regular  eight-and-one-half-hour  day, 
so  that  her  weekly  schedule  was  increased  from 
fifty  and  one-half  to  fifty-nine  and  one-half  hours. 
She  said  that  the  boss  had  tried  to  induce  her  to 
stay  every  night,  but  the  work  was  so  hard  she 
could  not  do  it.  A  flower  maker  not  only  worked 
until  8:30  p.  m.  four  times  a  week,  so  that  she  had 
sixty  and  one-half  hours  to  her  credit,  but  she 
also  had  to  take  work  home  over  Sunday.  She 
realized  that  the  overtime  was  illegal,  and  had 
often  wondered  how  it  was  that  inspectors  had 
been  around  to  other  places  and  forbidden  more 
than  one  hour  overtime,  while  in  her  place  they 
worked  three.  She  hated  the  overtime  as  it  made 
her  very  tired,  but  it  was  compulsory.  Table  10 
shows  the  daily  hours  that  the  women  and  girls 
had  worked  when  there  was  overtime. 

Contrary  to  the  widely  advocated  standard  of 
eight  hours  it  was  found  that  302,  or  90  per  cent 
of  the  334  women  and  girls  reporting  overtime, 
had  worked  over  ten  hours  a  day,  while  29  had 

90 


HOURS    OF    WORK 


actually  worked  over  twelve  hours.    When  the  time 
is  added  that  these  women  had  to  spend  going  to 


TABLE     10. — DAILY     HOURS     OF    WORK,    INCLUDING 

OVERTIME,   FOR  ITALIAN    WOMEN    WORKERS, 

BY    INDUSTRY 


Women  who  worked 

More 

More 

More 

than 

than 

than 

IO 

1 1 

12 

More 
than 

All 

Industry 

10 
hours 

hours 
but 

hours 
but 

hours 
but 

wo- 
men 

or 

not 

not 

not 

'3 

hours 

less 

more 

more 

more 

than 

than 

than 

i  i 

12 

13 

Manufacturing 

Flowers  and  feathers   . 

3 

8 

24 

2 

37 

Men's  and  boys'  clothing 

1 

7 

7 

16 

Women's  tailored  garments 

2 

13 

8 

23 

Dresses  and  waists 

1  1 

3' 

38 

4 

85 

All  other  women's  and  chil- 

dren's clothing 

2 

8 

28 

6 

44 

Paper  goods  .... 

2 

16 

4 

23 

Candy     

I 

1 1 

13 

4 

29 

Tobacco         .... 

4 

4 

3 

1  1 

Headwear      .... 

3 

3 

6 

Textiles   and    miscellaneous 

sewed  materials 

4 

3 

15 

6 

28 

Miscellaneous  manufactured 

goods          .... 

>4 

7 

21 

Store  and  office  work 

2 

3 

2 

1 

3 

1  1 

-r   .   ,                         Number 
Total                         D 

Per  cent 

32 

121 

152 

23 

6 

334a 

9.6 

36.2 

45-5 

6.9 

1.8 

100.0 

a0f  the  367  women  who  had  worked  overtime,  six  had  worked 
extra  time  on  Sundays  only,  and  27  did  not  supply  information. 

and  from  work,  and  the  lunch  and  supper  periods, 
small  margin  is  left  for  recreation  or  other  interests. 
Even  though  in  19 12  a  maximum  week  of  fifty- 
7  9' 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

four  hours  had  been  set  by  law,  in  this  investiga- 
tion we  found  1 1 5  women  who  had  been  working 
over  sixty  hours  a  week,  among  whom  were  1 1 
who  had  worked  seventy  hours  or  longer.1  The 
latter  were  engaged  in  flower  and  feather  making, 
men's  clothing,  bookbinding,  candy,  and  in  de- 
partment stores.  Two  women  had  worked  as 
long  as  seventy-eight  and  eighty  hours  in  one  week 
respectively,  in  department  stores.  On  the  other 
hand,  13  per  cent,  or  42  of  those  who  had  had 
overtime,  had  not  worked  over  fifty-four  hours  a 
week.  The  excessive  overtime  was  not  limited  to 
any  one  industry,  but  depended  rather  upon  the 
individual  employer. 

TABLE     II. — CLOSING    HOUR    FOR    ITALIAN    WOMEN 
WORKERS  WHO  HAD  WORKED  OVERTIME,  BY  AGE 


Women  who  were 

Closing  hour 

Less 

than 

16  years 

16  years 
and  less 
than  21 

21  years 
or  more 

All 
women 

Before  7  p.  m. 

7  p.  m.,  but  before  8 

8  p.  m.,  but  before  9 

9  P-  b> 

After  9  p.  m.,  but  before  10 

10  p.  m.,  or  later    . 

2 
8 
8 
8 

1 

1 1 

42 

78 

48 

2 

6 

8 
28 
55 
38 

4 

21 

78 
141 

94 
2 
1  1 

Total 

27 

.87 

1 3  3 

347a 

:1  Among  367  who  had  worked  overtime,  six  worked  extra  time  on 
Sundays  only  and  14  did  not  supply  information. 

Table  1 1  indicates  that  unfortunately  the  long 
hours  with  overtime  were  not   limited   to  older 

1  See  Appendix  C,    Table  6,  p.  331. 
92 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

women,  but  that  even  young  girls  of  fifteen  and 
sixteen,  and  many  under  twenty-one  were  work- 
ing until  half-past  eight,  nine  o'clock,  or  even 
later.  Eleven  women,  one  of  whom  was  under 
sixteen,  worked  until  10  p.  m.  or  later. 

Payment  for  extra  time  and  labor  after  the 
regular  day's  work  was  over  varied  from  industry 
to  industry,  and  from  shop  to  shop.  The  follow- 
ing list  shows  the  rate  of  compensation  among  263 
women  and  girls  who  had  worked  overtime: 

No  pay 9 

Regular  day  or  piece  rate 99 

Regular  day  or  piece  rate  and  supper  money          .        .  9 

Double  pay 7 

Time  and  a  half 11 

One-half  day's  pay 36 

Full  day's  pay 4 

Special  rate  per  hour 40 

Special  rate  per  evening 48 

The  nine  who  reported  no  pay  for  extra  work 
were  not  in  factories.  Six  of  them  were  employed 
in  department  stores,  one  in  an  office,  one  in  a 
photograph  studio,  and  one  in  a  laundry.  These 
facts  do  not  substantiate  the  claims  that  Italian 
women  in  entering  factory  work  are  obliged  to 
seek  a  class  of  work  with  lower  standards  of  trade 
conditions. 

The  most  common  method  of  payment  was  on 
the  basis  of  the  usual  day  or  piece  rate,  without 
extra  compensation  because  the  work  was  done 
after  regular  hours.  Ninety-nine  had  received  only 
the  usual  rate.  Supper  money  was  given  in  only 
nine  cases,  in  amounts  ranging  from  1 1  cents  to  35 

93 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

cents,  25  cents,  however,  being  the  usual  amount. 
Only  7  per  cent  had  received  time  and  a  half  or 
double  time,  while  about  14  per  cent  had  been  paid 
half  a  day's  pay  for  the  evening's  work.  When 
special  sums  were  paid  for  an  evening's  work  they 
ranged  from  less  than  50  cents  received  by  18,  to 
$1.00  received  by  five  workers.  Payment  by  the 
hour  ranged  all  the  way  from  5  cents  to  35  cents. 

DANGERS  OF  OVERTIME 

Several  serious  questions  are  involved  in  over- 
time. There  is  the  obvious  danger  of  having  young 
girls  of  sixteen  or  eighteen  years  leaving  the  fac- 
tories in  the  evening,  in  districts  where  the  streets 
are  dark  and  practically  deserted.  Moreover,  at 
this  time  of  overwork,  when  they  need  good 
strengthening  food,  they  are  usually  condemned 
to  two  cold  lunches  during  the  day. 

In  a  careful  study  of  industrial  fatigue  made 
by  A.  F.  Stanley  Kent  in  factories  in  England, 
in  19161  the  following  conclusions  were  reached: 
"The  general  health  of  the  worker,  upon  which 
his  rate  of  working  and  his  powers  of  endurance 
depend,  so  far  as  it  can  be  gauged  by  the  tests 
used  in  this  investigation,  appears  to  be  prejudiced 
by  the  introduction  of  overtime,  and,  to  a  less 
extent,  by  work  in  the  early  morning  hours.  The 
suspension  of  overtime  was  followed  in  every  case 

1  Second  Interim  Report  on  an  investigation  of  Industrial  Fatigue 
by  Physiological  Methods,  by  A.  F.  Stanley  Kent,  M.A.,  D.  S.  C. 
London,  1916,  p.  65. 

94 


HOURS   OF    WORK 

by  an  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  worker. 
.  .  .  Where  an  estimate  was  made  of  the  time 
lost  by  the  worker,  and  this  was  taken  as  an  indi- 
cation of  his  general  health,  the  suspension  of 
overtime  was  found  to  result  in  a  saving  of  time 
of  fourandahalf  per  cent."  .  .  .  Overtime  la- 
bour, when  performed  by  a  tired  worker  results  in  an 
amount  of  fatigue  out  of  proportion  to  the  length 
and  severity  of  the  labour.  Fatigue  production  is 
increased  and  recovery  is  lessened  by  overtime. 
.  .  .  An  increase  in  the  amount  of  overtime 
worked  in  a  given  period  will  produce  an  increase 
of  fatigue  out  of  proportion  to  the  increased 
time.  .  .  .  Overtime,  even  when  not  leading 
to  injurious  fatigue,  is  deleterious  to  health  as 
necessitating  long  hours  spent  in  the  atmosphere 
and  surroundings  of  the  mill,  interference  with 
meals,  sleep,  relaxation  and  exercise  in  the  open 
air.  .  .  .  Overtime  labour  is  physiologically 
and  economically  extravagant."1 

This  last  point  ought  to  be  an  important  con- 
sideration on  the  part  of  the  employer.  Actual 
tests  led  to  the  conclusion  that  "  During  the  mid- 
dle periods  of  the  day  output  is  normally  high, 
but  is  lowered  by  the  working  of  overtime.  This 
diminution  is  often  so  great  that  the  total  daily 
output  is  less  when  overtime  is  worked  than  when 
it  is  suspended.     Thus  overtime  defeats  its  own 

1  Ibid.,  p.  22.  (See  also  Goldmark,  Josephine,  Fatigue  and  Effi- 
ciency.    Russell  Sage  Foundation  Publication,     it)  12.) 


95 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

object.     .     .     .     The  unsatisfactory  output  of  the 
overtime  period  is  due  to  fatigue."1 

Some  of  the  employers  interviewed  held  this 
view.  One  underwear  manufacturer  said,  "If  we 
can't  get  our  work  done  this  week,  we  will  have 
to  let  it  go  to  the  next."  Two  Italian  girls  em- 
ployed here  confirmed  this  statement.  A  manager 
of  a  paper  box  concern  had  found  by  actual  expe- 
rience that  overtime  did  not  pay.  "It  may  pay 
for  two  or  three  weeks  but  then  there  is  a  marked 
falling  off  in  production."  He  had  discovered 
that  he  himself  was  less  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  the  firm  when  he  worked  evenings.  In  a  silk 
finishing  factory,  the  employer  had  for  ten  years 
had  a  fifty-four-hour  week.  A  framed  sign  bore 
witness  to  this  fact.  He  related  with  satisfaction 
that  when  the  fifty-four-hour  law  went  into  effect 

the  inspector  had  said,  "Mr. -,  the  State  has  at 

last  adopted  your  hours."  An  employer  in  the 
men's  clothing  line,  where  a  union  agreement  had 
reduced  the  hours  to  fifty-two  after  January,  19 14, 
said,  "We  are  glad  of  the  short  hours,  but  find  it 
makes  competition  with  firms  in  other  states  un- 
just. Eventually  we  shall  have  a  forty-eight-hour 
week,  but  I  hope  it  will  be  national.  The  people 
that  got  the  hardest  hit  by  the  strike  are  the  little 
fellows  who  had  not  heeded  the  fifty-four-hour  law 
and  who  were  working  fifty-nine  to  sixty-two  hours. 
It  has  put  some  of  them  out  of  business."  A  dress 
manufacturer  remarked,  "It  should  be  a  criminal 

1  [bid.,  p.  43. 
96 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

offense  all  over  the  United  States  to  work  girls  more 
than  fifty  hours  a  week,  or  else  there  should  be  no 
law  to  that  effect.  Injustice  comes  in  the  compe- 
tition." A  manufacturer  of  shirts  had  found  by 
actual  experiment  in  his  own  factory  that  his  350 
workers,  of  whom  half  were  Italian,  did  their  best 
in  the  morning  and  that  there  was  a  falling  off  in 
work  toward  the  end  of  the  day.  "  It  is  not  good 
to  let  women  work  over  fifty-four  hours  a  week, 
and  even  if  we  had  shops  in  other  states,  I  feel 
sure  we  should  not  allow  the  women  to  work  over 
fifty-four  hours."  An  employer  manufacturing 
knee  pants,  who  successfully  operated  his  shop 
on  forty-seven  hours  a  week,  had  no  overtime. 
"  You  are  no  good  if  you  work  more  than  nine  or 
so  hours  a  day.  Even  your  head  will  not  work." 
Such  comments  from  employers  are  significant, 
and  bear  testimony  to  the  principles  upon  which 
the  legislature  has  enacted  laws  limiting  the  hours 
of  work  of  women  and  children.  Unfortunately 
at  the  present  time  there  are  still  some  who  do 
not  believe  in  such  restrictions.  The  most  con- 
stant plea  is  that  the  workers  themselves  want  a 
chance  to  work  overtime  and  need  it.  A  man 
who  employed  80  girls  to  make  dolls  and  teddy 
bears  had  a  regular  schedule  of  fifty-four  hours  a 
week.  In  previous  years  he  had  always  had  over- 
time, and  told  how  when  he  had  received  a  late 
afternoon  telegram  placing  a  large  order,  he  would 
have  lost  it  hadjie  not  been  able  to  keep  the  girls 
overtime.     But  as  overtime  was  no  longer  allowed 

97 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

he  had  hired  an  extra  floor  and  as  he  said  "would 
have  to  have  many  more  workers  and  many  more 
to  put  out  of  employment  in  the  dull  season."  A 
flower  manufacturer  explained  that  the  fifty-four- 
hour  law  injured  the  girls,  as  it  deprived  them  of 
the  opportunity  to  make  extra  money.  "It  is 
easy  work  and  good  for  them.  Girls  want  to 
make  a  good  living  and  most  of  them  know  what 
work  means  and  come  very  promptly  to  earn  as 
much  as  possible."  "Overtime  is  a  great  ad- 
vantage to  the  employe,"  said  an  employer  in  the 
baking  business.  "These  girls  used  to  have  extra 
money  at  Christmas  and  this  year  they  sadly 
missed  it."  Few  of  his  women  workers  received  a 
regular  wage  of  more  than  $8.00  a  week. 

ATTITUDE  OF  WORKERS 

On  all  sides  there  were  protests  against  overtime 
in  spite  of  the  inducement  of  increased  earnings. 
One  girl,  who  cut  out  trimmings  on  underwear  at 
$4.50  a  week,  was  paid  35  cents  for  working  until 
8:30  p.m.  She  said  she  would  not  work  overtime 
any  more.  "  It  is  not  worth  while  to  kill  yourself." 
Another  girl  of  eighteen,  an  operator  on  kimonos, 
who  made  50  cents  an  evening  in  addition  to  the 
usual  $1 1  a  week  by  working  three  nights  a  week 
until  nine  o'clock  with  no  time  off  for  supper,  at 
the  end  of  three  months  exclaimed  in  despair,  "I 
can't  stand  it  any  more."  Carlotta  Valenti  had 
been  working  overtime  at  padding  men's  coats  on 
the  evening  when  the  visitor  called.    She  had  sat 

98 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

idle  all  day,  but  a  special  order  had  come  in  and 
she  had  been  obliged  to  stay  until  nine  o'clock.  A 
finisher  on  women's  suits  had  to  give  up  night 
school  because  she  was  required  to  work  overtime 
every  night,  sometimes  even  on  Sundays.  Yet  she 
made  no  extra  money  because  she  had  to  wait  for 
work  the  greater  part  of  the  day. 

A  woman  of  twenty-two,  a  straw  operator,  sum- 
marized in  her  record  some  of  the  effects  of  such 
overwork.  During  four  months  of  the  year  she 
worked  overtime  every  day  until  8  p.m.,  with  no 
time  for  supper.  In  addition  she  was  asked  to 
come  in  for  half  a  day  on  Sundays.  She  found 
the  overtime  extremely  fatiguing;  she  used  to  get 
more  tired  in  the  two  hours  at  night  than  during 
all  the  remainder  of  the  day.  She  always  noticed 
a  marked  change  in  her  health  at  the  end  of  the 
first  week  of  overtime,  and  it  took  her  a  long  time 
to  get  over  the  effects  at  the  end  of  the  season. 
She  was  usually  too  tired  to  eat,  and  had  to  go 
to  bed  as  soon  as  she  came  home  at  night.  Even 
then  she  was  often  too  tired  to  sleep.  While 
working  on  Sundays  as  well,  she  spent  the  rest  of 
the  day  in  bed. 

So  opposed  are  workers  to  overtime  that  fre- 
quently their  employers  cannot  persuade  them  to 
stay  unless  there  is  a  direct  threat  of  discharge. 
In  other  cases,  employers  have  resorted  to  the 
gentler  persuasive  measure  of  paying  special  pre- 
miums to  those  who  remain. 

An  equally  potent  force,  while  more  indirect, 
99 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

is  economic  pressure  at  home.  Because  her  father 
was  out  of  work,  Lydia,  a  girl  of  twenty-one,  who 
was  the  principal  wage-earner  in  a  household  of 
six,  pasting  calendars  at  $6.00  a  week,  worked 
three  nights  a  week  until  10  p.m.  for  two  weeks 
before  Christmas  to  earn  a  dollar  an  evening. 
The  father  of  little  Louisa  Trentino,  seventeen 
years  old,  was  a  hod  carrier,  usually  idle.  Her 
mother  and  the  children  earned  a  few  dollars  a 
week  making  flowers  at  home.  Louisa  could  in- 
crease her  weekly  earnings  of  $6.00  by  50  cents  if 
she  worked  until  8:30  p.m.  three  nights  a  week. 
This  meant  that  she  could  not  attend  evening 
classes,  although  she  had  been  backward  in  school, 
nor  join  a  club  in  a  nearby  settlement  in  which 
she  was  interested. 

VIOLATIONS  OF  LAW 

The  worst  feature  of  this  excessive  amount  of 
overtime  and  long  hours  is  that  while  the  women 
are  nominally  protected  by  law,  the  facilities  for 
enforcing  its  provisions  are  inadequate.  To  the 
investigators  in  their  visits  to  the  shops,  especially 
soon  after  the  fifty-four-hour  law  went  into  effect, 
employers  sometimes  stated  regular  hours  that 
were  in  violation  of  the  law,  so  that  they  were 
seemingly  ignorant  of  its  provisions.  Not  all  the 
violations  reported,  however,  could  be  ascribed  to 
ignorance,  for  some  factories  were  exceeding  the 
limits  set  by  the  law  of  1909.  Table  12  shows  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  violations.     On  account 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

of  the  changes  that  occurred  in  the  law  in  October, 
19 1 2,  reducing  the  hours  of  work  for  women  while 
this  investigation  was  in  progress,  the  table  includes 
also  violations  of  the  provisions  of  the  law  before  it 
was  amended. 


TABLE    12. — VIOLATIONS    OF     LAWS     REGULATING 
HOURS  OF  WORK  FOR  WOMEN    l6  YEARS  AND  OVER 


Nature  of  violations 

Of  law  prior  to  October,  1912 
Employment  for  more  than 

10  hours  daily 

60  hours  weekly 

10  hours  daily  irregularly,  more  than  3  times  a  week 
Of  law  as  amended  October,  19 12 
Employment  for  more  than 

9  hours  daily 

54  hours  weekly 

9  hours  daily  irregularly,  more  than  3  times  a  week 

6  days  a  week 

Allowance  for  supper  less  than  20  minutes  when  working 

overtime  more  than  1  hour  after  6  p.m.    •     . 
Employment  after  9  p.m.  of  women  under  21  years  of 
age 

Total 


Number 


18 
66 
45 


132 
190 

54 
37 

.36 
6 


684 


Practically  no  industry  included  in  the  investi- 
gation was  without  a  representative  in  the  list  of 
offenders.  Factories  manufacturing  dresses  and 
shirtwaists,  cloaks  and  suits,  men's  clothing, 
flowers  and  feathers,  muslin  underwear,  candy, 
paper  boxes,  hand  embroidery,  and  laundries  had 
large  numbers  of  violations  to  their  discredit.  In 
shops  manufacturing  dresses,  92  distinct  violations 
were  found,  while  those  in  men's  clothing  shops 
amounted   to  85,   and  in  candy  factories  to   111. 

101 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

There  were  further  violations  of  the  statutes  pro- 
tecting children  under  sixteen  in  factories,  as  shown 
in  Table  i  3. 

TABLE    13. — VIOLATIONS  OF   LAWS  REGULATING  EM- 
PLOYMENT OF  GIRLS  UNDER   l6  YEARS  OF  AGE 


Nature  of  violations 


Lmployment 

For  more  than  48  hours  weekly 
For  more  than  8  hours  daily  . 

Before  8  a.m 

After  5  p.m 

Without  work  certificate  . 


Number 


77 
82 

'3 
69 

5 


Total 


246 


In  a  group  of  98  children  under  sixteen  years 
of  age  who  gave  information  about  their  conditions 
of  employment,  all  but  12  had  been  employed  in 
violation  of  some  provision  of  the  labor  law.  Some 
were  not  entitled  to  work  at  all  as  they  had  no 
work  certificates.  Others  worked  longer  hours 
than  the  law  allowed.  Girls  fourteen  and  fifteen 
were  found  working  until  eight  and  even  nine  at 
night.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  eight  hours  had 
been  set  as  the  limit  for  their  day's  work  by  law  in 
1907,  it  is  startling  to  find  82  out  of  a  group  of  98 
children  reporting,  employed  in  violation  of  this  law 
in  19 1 2.  The  results  certainly  point  to  the  urgent 
need  of  a  better  enforcement  of  the  laws  regulating 
the  hours  of  work  of  both  children  and  women. 

The  851  workers  who  reported  upon  hours  of 
work  were  employed  with   579  firms.     In    309  of 

102 


HOURS   OF    WORK 


these  firms  workers  were  employed  in  violation 
of  some  section  of  the  labor  law.  Because  of  the 
provisions  limiting  the  employment  of  children 
between  certain  hours,  that  is,  to  the  hours  be- 
tween 8  a.m.  and  5  p.m.,  violations  of  these  laws 
are  comparatively  easy  to  detect,  especially  as  the 
employer  must  keep  on  file  the  work  certificate 
of  every  child  under  sixteen  years  of  age. 

Unfortunately  the  provisions  of  the  law  regu- 
lating the  hours  of  work  of  women  are  more  diffi- 
cult to  enforce  because  their  hours  are  not  limited 
within  certain  periods.  Each  factory  is  required 
to  keep  posted  a  copy  of  the  labor  laws  and  a 
schedule  of  its  regular  hours  of  work.  Even  this 
provision  was  frequently  violated,  so  that  em- 
ployes had  little  opportunity  to  know  the  law. 

To  enforce  the  law,  the  inspector  must  ascer- 
tain not  only  the  regular  schedule  of  the  shop,  but 
the  daily  and  weekly  hours  worked  by  each  wo- 
man. Even  if  he  comes  to  the  shop  at  8  p.m.  and 
finds  a  group  of  women  at  work,  he  must  ascertain 
from  each  one  her  hours  of  work.  Obviously, 
until  the  hours  are  further  restricted  within  cer- 
tain periods,  the  other  provisions  will  be  difficult 
to  enforce.  At  least  a  first  step  would  be  the  ex- 
tension of  the  provision  forbidding  the  employment 
of  women  under  twenty-one  after  9  p.m.,  to  women 
twenty-one  years  of  age  or  older.  The  present 
provision  is  inadequate  to  protect  even  those  under 
twenty-one,  since  no  proof  of  age  is  asked. 


103 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 
TRADE  UNIONS 

There  is  room,  also,  for  greater  activity  by  the 
unions  in  this  direction.  The  investigators  were 
surprised  to  find  frequent  violations  of  law  even 
in  shops  which  were  organized.  One  important 
function  of  such  organizations  ought  to  be  to 
secure  adequate  enforcement  of  the  laws  protecting 
labor,  especially  in  the  matter  of  hours,  where  the 
unions  and  legislation  both  aim  at  securing  a 
shorter  work  day. 

Because  of  the  indifference,  conservatism,  and 
lack  of  understanding  of  the  majority  of  employers, 
improvement  in  conditions  of  employment  comes 
slowly  unless  stimulated  by  other  forces.  One  of  the 
most  effective  of  these  is  the  power  of  the  worker 
through  union  organization.  Of  the  1,027  women 
and  girls  found  in  factory  work,  1 10  were  union 
members  distributed  as  follows:  United  Garment 
Workers,  28;  Vest  Makers'  Union,  5;  Knee  Pants 
Makers,  2;  International  Ladies'  Garment  Work- 
ers, 38;  Ladies'  Waist  and  Dressmakers'  Union, 
30;  Joint  Board,  Children's  Clothing  Trade,  2; 
White  Goods  Workers'  Union,  1 ;  Wrapper  and 
Kimono  Makers'  Union,  1 ;  Straw  Hatters'  Union, 
2;  Bookbinders'  Union,  1.  Seventeen  per  cent,  or 
43  of  the  259  shops  in  which  they  worked,  were 
organized.  Sixty-eight  of  the  women  who  were 
union  members  could  speak  Italian  only,  and  82 
were  immigrants  who  had  come  to  this  country 
when  they  were  over  fourteen  years  old.  They 
made  up  22  per  cent  of  the  373  women  immigrants 

104 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

who  were  fourteen  years  or  older  at  time  of  com- 
ing. In  contrast,  we  find  that  only  28,  or  4  per 
cent  of  the  722  women  or  girls  who  were  born  in 
this  country  or  who  came  over  as  children,  were 
union  members. 

One  woman,  forty  years  old,  who  had  come 
to  this  country  when  thirty-three,  had  never  been 
to  school  and  could  speak  no  word  of  English. 
This,  however,  did  not  prevent  her  from  joining 
the  men's  clothing  union  and  going  out  on  strike. 
She  knew  she  was  striking  for  shorter  hours  and 
more  pay.  She  had  been  working  eleven  and  a 
half  hours  a  day  and  was  earning  about  $6.00  a 
week.  She  said  she  would  like  to  work  from  8  a.m. 
to  5.30  p.m.  and  live  a  little  more  decently.  She 
had  been  out  on  strike  six  weeks  when  she  was 
interviewed.  "I  will  not  betray  my  patria,"  an- 
other woman  out  on  strike  declared,  when  the 
"boss"  offered  her  lodging  with  Italian  board  and 
$2.00  a  day  if  she  would  return. 

The  largest  number  as  well  as  the  largest  pro- 
portion of  organized  shops  was  in  the  cloak  and 
suit  industry,  which  included  15  of  the  17  visited. 
In  the  men's  clothing  industry  which  was  being 
organized  while  this  study  was  in  progress,  eight 
of  the  27  shops  included  women  as  well  as  men 
in  the  union.  In  this  industry  about  1 15,000  men 
went  on  strike  in  December,  1912,  and  10,000 
women  finishers,  almost  all  Italian,  were  thus 
thrown  out  of  work.  The  settlement,  in  March, 
191 3,  granted  shorter  hours  and  higher  pay  to 

105 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  workers.  The  president  of  the  union  stated 
later  that  the  women  were  paying  their  dues  and 
holding  meetings  regularly,  and  that  largely 
through  their  influence  the  organization  of  about 
50  per  cent  of  the  home  workers,  all  Italian,  had 
been  effected. 

HOME  WORK 

In  some  factories  in  busy  season  the  women  took 
the  extra  work  home  to  finish  at  night  instead  of 
staying  in  the  shop.  This,  of  course,  can  be  done 
only  in  occupations  which  are  largely  hand  work — 
such  as  feather  and  flower  making,  hand  sewing 
on  garments,  and  similar  processes.  Thus  we 
found  that  in  44  industries  women  had  taken  work 
home  in  only  22.  Of  the  886  who  reported  on  this 
point,  130,  or  15  per  cent,  had  taken  work  home 
in  their  last  or  present  position.  The  largest  pro- 
portion of  these  were  flower  and  feather  makers. 
In  this  industry,  57  per  cent  of  the  women  had 
taken  work  home  with  them  after  their  day's  work 
in  the  shop  was  finished. 

While  the  women  who  worked  at  home  were 
at  least  able  to  get  a  hot  supper,  they  worked 
even  later  than  those  who  stayed  in  the  shop. 
For  instance,  a  willow-plume  maker  used  to  work 
until  one  or  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  five  nights 
a  week  for  weeks  at  a  stretch  during  the  busy  sea- 
son. Theresa,  another  feather  maker,  eighteen 
years  old,  pale,  thin,  and  anemic,  had  worked 
nearly  every  night  until  eleven  for  six  weeks.  The 
mother  objected  as  the  girl  was  not  strong  and  the 


HOURS    OF    WORK 

family  didn't  need  the  money.  But  Theresa  said 
that  she  would  lose  her  job  if  she  refused  to  take 
the  work.  Another  girl  who  made  fancy  garters 
took  work  home  every  night.  A  lonely,  frugal 
woman  of  forty,  who  kept  house  in  one  room  and 
tried  to  support  herself  on  $6.00  or  $7.00  a  week, 
branched  flowers  after  supper  until  midnight  to 
earn  $1.20  an  evening  to  add  to  the  fund  which 
was  to  tide  her  over  the  long  slack  season. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  facts  to  anyone 
who  studies  the  records  of  those  who  have  made 
good  the  losses  of  slack  season  through  overtime 
and  home  work  is  the  small  number  who  are  will- 
ing to  do  it  unless  they  are  literally  compelled  to. 
By  experience  they  have  come  to  know  the  price 
they  must  pay  in  the  form  of  extra  fatigue,  bodily 
and  mental  weariness,  sacrifice  of  all  interests  and 
all  opportunities  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  labor, 
even  decreased  efficiency,  in  return  for  the  few  dol- 
lars and  cents  they  receive.  Yet  the  fact  that  such 
large  numbers  actually  did  perform  extra  work  in 
spite  of  all  its  drawbacks  is  significant.  On  the 
one  side  is  the  influence  of  the  employer  who  shows 
his  realization  of  what  the  job  means  to  the  worker 
when  he  threatens  to  discharge  her.  On  the  other 
is  the  pressure  of  home  conditions,  which  not  only 
makes  her  powerless  against  his  threat  but  spurs 
her  on  to  make  such  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  the 
extra  earnings  she  will  be  able  to  add  to  the  family 
income.  By  bitter  experience  she  has  learned 
that  "in  time  of  peace  she  must  prepare  for  war." 
s  107 


CHAPTER  VI 
WHAT  SEASONS  MEAN  TO  THE  WORKER 

THERE  is  scarcely  an  industry  not  affected 
once,  twice,  or  even  oftener  during  the  year 
by  variation  in  demand  for  its  product. 
Each  has  a  busy  season  or  period  when  extra 
workers  are  taken  on.  Signs  of  "girls  wanted" 
written  in  Hebrew,  English,  and  Italian,  hang 
thick  at  the  entrance  to  the  factory  and  reflect 
the  columns  of  advertisements  in  the  morning 
papers.  In  the  factory  loft,  all  labor  at  full  speed 
throughout  the  long  day.  The  wages  of  piece 
workers  soar,  and  even  the  earnings  of  week  work- 
ers are  increased  by  extra  tasks  at  night  in  the 
shop  or  at  home.  The  employer  rushes  about 
frantically  with  orders  to  be  filled,  superintendent 
and  foreman  goad  on  the  straining  workers,  and 
all  are  in  breathless  haste.  Later,  however,  if  you 
chance  upon  the  same  shop  again,  you  may  find 
all  the  extra  hands  gone  and  even  some  of  the 
steady  workers  taking  vacations  of  a  few  weeks. 
The  piece  workers'  earnings  have  dropped  some- 
times to  nearly  nothing,  and  often  they  sit  idle, 
waiting  for  work  to  come  in.  Even  a  week  worker 
kept  on,  no  longer  expects  a  full  week's  pay  in  her 
envelope,  since  the  shop  closes  at  four  o'clock  in- 
stead of  six.     Machines  which  were  thundering  a 

1 08 


SEASONS 

few  weeks  ago  now  stand  silent.  The  long  tables 
at  which  girls  were  crowded  are  empty,  the  signs 
at  entrance  doors  gone.  Perhaps  you  will  even  be 
unable  to  see  the  workroom,  for  the  door  may  be 
padlocked  and  the  elevator  man  may  tell  you  that 
the  place  is  closed  until  the  season  begins  again. 
The  slack  season  is  on. 

FLUCTUATIONS  IN  LABOR  FORCE 

Establishments  manufacturing  clothing,  milli- 
nery, straw  hats,  candy,  flowers  and  feathers,  fur 
goods,  and  the  bookbinderies  reported  slack  periods 
lasting  for  several  months.  Table  14  shows  the 
variation  in  the  number  of  women  employed  in  the 
busy  and  slack  seasons  in  the  different  industries. 


TABLE  14. — MAXIMUM  AND  MINIMUM  FORCE  OF 
WOMEN  EMPLOYED  DURING  YEAR  IN  FACTORIES 
INVESTIGATED,  BY  INDUSTRY1 


Maxi- 

Mini- 

Per cent 

mum 

mum 

mini- 

Industry 

force 

force 

mum  is 

of 

of 

of  maxi- 

women 

women 

mum 

Flowers  and  feathers      .... 

740 

438 

59 

Men's  and  boys'  clothing 

1,461 

1,270 

87 

Women's  and  children's  clothing 

5.775 

4.615 

80 

Paper  goods 

i.3>4 

1,1 12 

85 

Tobacco  and  foodstuffs 

5.911 

4,684 

79 

Headwear 

1.037 

528 

5' 

Textiles  and  miscellaneous  sewed  ma- 

terials     

1,582 

>,275 

81 

Fur,  rubber,  and  leather  goods     . 

616 

461 

75 

Miscellaneous  manufactured  goods 

721 

634 

88 

Total 

19.157 

15,017 

78 

a  Of  271  factories  investigated,  40  did  not  supply  information  as 
to  maximum  and  minimum  force. 

109 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

In  the  shops  investigated,  only  about  three- 
fourths  of  the  women  employed  in  the  busy  sea- 
son were  kept  during  the  slack  season.  The  lar- 
gest variations  were  in  millinery,  where  only  5 1  per 
cent  were  at  work  in  the  slack  period,  and  in  the 
flower  and  feather  industry  which  retained  but  59 
per  cent.  In  the  making  of  men's  clothing,  87 
per  cent  of  the  force  was  retained. 

CONTROL  OF  SEASONS  BY  EMPLOYERS 

Because  an  industry  has  an  irregular  demand, 
however,  does  not  always  mean  irregular  employ- 
ment for  the  workers  in  it.  The  individual  em- 
ployer is  almost  as  important  a  factor.  In  the 
same  industry  we  found  those  who  were  con- 
tinually hiring  and  laying  off  workers  because  of 
slack  season,  while  others  kept  a  steady  force. 
One  manufacturer  of  leather  hand  bags  and  purses 
could  keep  steadily  only  one  of  the  six  workers 
that  he  employed  during  the  four  busy  months. 
Another,  manufacturing  dog  collars  in  addition, 
could  keep  50  women  employed  throughout  the 
year,  although  there  was  a  slightly  busier  time 
before  Christmas  and  Easter  as  "ladies  like  to 
have  dog  collars  and  bags  to  match  their  new 
gowns."  One  firm  in  the  men's  clothing  trade 
employed  24  women  during  the  busy  months  from 
December  to  February  and  July  to  September. 
The  force  was  reduced  to  14  when  it  was  slack, 
and  even  these  were  on  part  time  four  or  five 
months  of  the  year.     But  another  in  the  same  line 


SEASONS 

kept  85  women  all  the  year.  In  the  slack  season 
the  women  were  employed  on  materials  that  were 
on  hand  and  could  be  made  up  into  stock. 

Trades  with  no  defined  seasons  seem  to  be  at 
the  greatest  disadvantage.  A  fancy  feather  manu- 
facturer complained  that  sometimes  there  would 
be  no  work  at  all  procurable,  and  that  sometimes 
the  department  would  be  busy  almost  the  entire 
year.  "You  can't  foretell  seasons,"  said  a  maker 
of  neckwear.  "Sometimes  we  will  strike  a  popular 
line  and  could  use  200  workers  for  a  couple  of 
months.  Then  we  will  have  nothing  to  do  for  a 
month  or  so."  As  a  result,  the  number  in  his 
workroom  varied  from  35  to  three. 

Some  firms  made  a  practice  of  keeping  their 
workers  regularly  even  though  there  was  little 
to  do  at  certain  periods.  They  felt  compensated 
in  not  incurring  the  expense  of  hiring  and  training 
new  help  when  the  busy  season  came  by  having  a 
force  that  understood  their  methods.  This  is  a 
consideration  that  few  employers  take  account  of, 
perhaps  because  they  have  paid  little  attention  to 
the  expense  of  hiring  and  breaking  in  new  workers. 
Yet  those  who  have  made  a  study  of  the  cost  of 
the  process  find  that  it  is  considerable  when  they 
reckon  the  time  of  someone  to  teach  employes, 
the  loss  in  materials  and  in  wages  paid.  Even 
experienced  workers  have  to  be  adjusted. 

In  a  men's  clothing  factory  making  up  suits 
ordered  in  the  department  stores,  100  out  of  350^ 
workers  were  kept  in  slack  season  to  do  contract 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

work,  though  at  a  loss.  The  manager  explained 
that  the  firm  planned  to  keep  the  workers  to- 
gether and  that  it  was  better  to  lose  $500  than 
$3,000.  They  made  the  garments  at  a  slight  loss, 
but  if  the  firm  had  not  made  them  at  all  they  would 
have  turned  out  $3,000  less  work  during  a  year. 

Other  firms  kept  a  large  proportion  of  their 
workers  during  the  slack  season,  but  on  part  time 
or  limiting  their  daily  earnings  and  dividing  the 
work  among  all.  On  the  other  hand,  some  em- 
ployers felt  that  this  plan  was  unfair  to  the  work- 
ers and  retained  only  as  many  as  could  get  a  full 
day's  work.  It  seems  unjust,  however,  for  workers 
to  be  required  to  come  in  every  day  although 
there  may  be  little  or  no  work  to  do.  In  some 
cases  employers  required  this  as  evidence  that 
they  were  not  working  elsewhere.  "  I  made  $1.86 
last  week,"  said  a  flower  maker,  "but  we  had  to 
go  every  day  to  see  if  there  was  any  work.  I 
wish  they  would  let  us  work  one  day  and  be  of? 
the  rest  of  the  week.  It's  awful  to  sit  around  this 
way."  Such  practices  are  to  be  condemned. 
Employers,  without  any  expense  to  themselves, 
are  trying  to  hold  workers  over  the  slack  season 
to  meet  their  needs  when  the  busy  time  comes. 
Sometimes  they  take  this  opportunity  to  lay  off 
slow  and  poor  workers  in  the  hope  that  they  may 
secure  better  ones  when  the  season  begins. 

Some  of  the  firms  where  Italian  women  were 
working  had  made  special  efforts  to  regularize  the 
output  as  well  as  the  employment  of  their  workers. 


SEASONS 

Various  motives  prompted  them,  such  as  a  wider 
use  of  their  plants  in  order  to  keep  together  a 
force  of  good  workers,  or  to  keep  their  salesmen 
busy.  One  method  was  to  manufacture  a  variety 
of  articles.  For  instance,  a  firm  employing  45 
girls  for  making  covered  buttons  for  tailors  could 
keep  30  continuously  by  making  upholstery  but- 
tons as  well.  The  employer  stated  that  this  last 
work  paid  poorly,  but  it  nevertheless  enabled  him 
to  keep  his  working  force  in  shape  for  the  rush 
season.  A  manufacturer  of  straw  hats,  with  a 
busy  season  of  six  months  when  he  needed  about 
84  women,  had  extended  the  work  of  the  women 
materially  by  taking  up  a  line  of  silk  and  velvet 
hats.  Interested  in  keeping  his  workers  together, 
as  good  workers  were  scarce,  he  had  tried  various 
schemes  to  tide  over  the  slack  season.  During 
the  previous  year  he  had  set  them  doing  French 
scallops,  but  the  girls  found  these  too  slow  after 
the  excitement  of  straw  sewing  and  he  had  to 
discontinue  making  them. 

A  bathing  suit  manufacturer  was  busy  all  the 
year  because  cheaper  grades  of  bathing  suits  of 
standard  design  could  be  made  up  throughout  the 
year,  while  the  better  grade  of  suit  was  left  until 
about  April  so  that  the  styles  might  be  of  the  latest. 

Several  difficulties  face  employers  who  try  to 
dovetail  two  industries.  For  successful  dovetail- 
ing, the  seasons  of  the  two  industries  must  not 
overlap,  the  processes  must  require  the  same  sort 
of  machinery  or  hand  work,  and  the  workers  must 

113 


ITALIAN  WOMEN   IN   INDUSTRY 

be  able  to  transfer  from  one  to  the  other  without 
loss  of  efficiency.  Where  it  can  be  worked  out 
this  is  one  of  the  simplest  methods  of  solving  the 
problem  of  seasonal  employment. 

Firms  manufacturing  standard  goods,  or  goods 
that  vary  little  with  fashion,  are  able  to  make  up 
stock  during  the  slack  season.  This  was  done  by 
manufacturers  of  such  goods  as  underwear,  dress 
shields,  ostrich  plumes,  corsets,  children's  cloaks, 
paper  boxes,  playing  cards,  and  cigars.  An  em- 
ployer with  a  large  olive  packing  factory  said  that 
while  twice  as  many  olives  are  consumed  in  the 
summer  as  in  the  winter,  the  work  is  steady  for  the 
women.  A  manager  of  a  large  paper-box  factory 
employing  about  ioo  women  kept  the  larger  part 
of  his  force  during  the  year  although  there  were 
only  four  very  busy  months.  In  the  summer  he 
ran  on  part-time  schedule,  closing  at  four  o'clock, 
with  no  work  on  Saturday.  At  other  times  he 
made  up  standard  stock,  but  only  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent, as  space  for  storage  was  too  expensive. 

EXTENT  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT 

The  question  naturally  arises,  what  becomes  of 
the  workers  whom  employers  do  not  try  to  keep 
on  during  the  slack  season?  Are  they  idle  or  do 
they  find  other  employment?  A  tabulation  of  the 
amount  of  time  lost  in  the  course  of  a  year  by 
this  group  of  women  indicates  that  for  many  the 
slack  season  means  a  prolonged  period  of  unem- 
ployment. Table  15  gives  this  information  by 
industries. 

114 


SEASONS 


c 

^  o 

oco 

G>  "^  C~^  t^          —    —           C\ 

x 

r~ 

"u^v 

rs   u^  rv\  — 

p^   ^-  t^  (N           i/n  <N           — 

o 

■* 

l^ 

1^ 

* 

y     OJ 

Im 

^T  "^00^0 

—    ro  —    **■         irs     • 

VO 

•«• 

o 

03 
0) 

ro 

■<1- 

>> 

^° 

B 

T3 

■^    in  ^    in 

NVOVOVO 

-    rr>00  00        O    <N         tt 

(S 

Is- 

CN 

n~>  —   —    rs 

rr>         — 

o 

>o 

D. 

2  S-S  * 

"" 

"" 

t) 

JS 

60 

C 

J2  £  M  a 

0)           C    1) 

ia  ^-  rfN  ir\ 

r^O   t>>  rr\       00    (N          — 

1^ 

rrs 

o 

3 

£  T3   rt    J> 

<N    —          (S 

ro         — 

rr\ 

"*■ 

-a 

oo  rt  *-> 

~ 

"3 

01 

O 

J2    <n  00    <« 

EL 

E 

V 

O  _2tJ    e.* 

(S    Tf     -VO 

^   N     ^*    U^             —      ITn             LT\ 

rri 

00 

_ 

/ 

*•§!£ 

ro  —      •   <N 

rr> 

<o 

t^ 

c 

3 
CD 

•*  rt  ~ 

c 

rt  <n 

*"'  <u 

rr-    O    rr>  u-s 

—  o  irv  r~»     oo  —      o 

o> 

_ 

o 

O 

JZ 

r<^  —          (N 

mn  f(               —    — 

oo 

o 

c 

0) 

E 

o 

H 

ro      -    —    m 

Tj-  —    (N       ■          rr,  —          crs 

_ 

■*■ 

ir\ 

<N 

rr\ 

V 

•    •    •    •  __</> 

......    ^      . 

"c 

£           <" 

V 

?£          £         J£  T3 

.  —      .    u     .  ^3   C 

'  2 

3           v.           o    3 
in          in          Ore 

£      '-E 

is  1 

-3          3          M— 

■    ■  o    •  o    •  >-  -a    • 

Ul 

c 

O          1>          <u    c 

z 

o 

_g 

•      •  "3      •  —      •    rt    m      • 

p 

<U  "3    M  <n    in 

5      "S       ^  "o 

< 

rt 

gl'illi 

—  -rl  -O  -3  _     O 
^      *    C  fc<n    03    <— 

u   i"  rt   c   «  Ji 

5 1 5  o £- 

«         5        - ■    O 

a. 

Q. 

-       .<£        T3   O 

3 

3 
'-> 
'J 

o 

c  o  rT  rt      "c       5 

O   lj   «T3'J    «£   3    M 
—    a.  XI    03    X    P  x    «    C 

d.r-1:-       QiS 

"J5 
o 

U 

u 
0 

a 

i 

o 
j 

< 

O 

T3 

C 
03 

a 

J 

C 

s 

>  t^ 


O    "J 


t:  o 
O  S 


MS 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

Only  35  of  the  755  women,  or  less  than  5  per 
cent,  had  drawn  full  pay  during  each  of  the  fifty- 
two  weeks  in  the  year,  while  40  had  been  unem- 
ployed at  least  six  months.  Slightly  less  than  half, 
or  46  per  cent,  had  lost  wages  for  at  least  eight 
weeks  during  the  year.  With  such  conditions  of 
unemployment  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  marked 
differences  between  nominal  wages  and  real  earn- 
ings. We  shall  see  in  the  subsequent  discussion  of 
wages1  that  the  full  time  weekly  earnings  had  to 
be  reduced  about  a  sixth  before  they  were  equal 
to  the  average  weekly  earnings  through  the  year, 
since  about  half  the  workers  lost  wages  for  at  least 
a  sixth  of  the  working  days  in  a  year's  time. 

The  amount  of  unemployment  varied  from  in- 
dustry to  industry.  For  instance,  in  only  one  of 
the  1 1  main  manufacturing  groups — the  making 
of  rubber,  fur,  and  hair  goods,  had  half  the  workers 
lost  less  than  four  weeks.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
men's  clothing,  wholesale  dressmaking  and  shirt- 
waists, and  headwear,  half  had  lost  at  least  eight 
weeks,  while  half  of  those  engaged  in  the  making 
of  women's  tailored  garments  had  been  unem- 
ployed at  least  twelve  weeks.  As  the  number  of 
women  in  each  group  is  small,  the  results  must 
not  be  regarded  as  conclusive  but  only  as  indica- 
tive of  the  condition  of  employment  for  these  par- 
ticular groups.  The  results,  however,  indicate 
that  a  high  weekly  wage  does  not  necessarily 
mean  a   large  yearly  income.     For  instance,  the 

1  See  Chapter  VII,  p.  149. 
116 


SEASONS 


two  industries — women's  tailored  garments  and 
headwear — which  were  paying  the  highest  weekly  A 
rates  were  likewise  those  in  which  the  women  lost  J 
the  most  time. 


REASONS  FOR  UNEMPLOYMENT 

The  reasons  why  women  lost  time  from  work 
during  the  year  are  given  in  Table  16.  Slack  sea- 
son and  part  time  have  been  grouped  together, 
as  it  was  impossible  in  many  cases  to  distinguish 
just  how  much  time  had  been  lost  from  each  cause. 
A  girl  may  be  away  from  her  shop  for  an  entire 
week,  then  return  for  two  or  three  days'  work  only 
part  of  each  day.  In  such  cases,  the  worker's 
statement  was  accepted  as  to  the  total  amount 
of  time  lost  in  the  dull  periods. 

TABLE  l6. — CAUSES  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT  DURING 
THE  YEAR  PRECEDING  INVESTIGATION,  OF  ITAL- 
IAN WOMEN  WORKERS 


Cause  of  unemployment 

Total 
reporting 
on  each 

cause 

Women  unemployed 
during  year 

Number 

Per  cent  of 
total 

Slack  season  and  part  time 
Holidays  without  pay 
Vacations  without  pay 
Quitting  of  job     .... 
Personal  illness    .... 
Other  causes        .... 

777 
796 
758 
806 
764 
759 

509 
657 
132 

97 
184 
146 

65.5 
82.5 
17.4 
12.0 
24.1 
19.2 

Total  reporting  on  all  causes 

755a 

720 

95-4 

a  Of  the  1,095  women  investigated,  236  had  not  been  wage-earners 
during  the  entire  year,  and  104  failed  to  give  information  on  all  causes 
of  unemployment. 

117 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

The  greatest  loss  of  wages  was  due  to  the  sea- 
sonal character  of  the  work.  Two-thirds  of  those 
reporting  had  lost  time  on  this  account  alone. 
Nor  did  this  mean  a  loss  of  a  few  days  or  a  week, 
but  of  weeks,  perhaps  even  months  at  a  time. 
More  than  one  out  of  every  four,  or  214  out  of 
777  reporting,  had  lost  eight  weeks  or  more  dur- 
ing the  year  because  of  slack  or  part-time  work 
alone,  while  45  per  cent,  or  354,  had  lost  a  month 
or  longer.  In  spite  of  their  willingness  to  change 
from  position  to  position  or  even  from  industry  to 
industry  to  fill  in  the  slack  period  in  their  regular 
trade,  only  a  third  were  able  to  say  that  they  had 
lost  no  time  from  either  of  these  causes. 

A  straw  sewer,  who  had  earned  as  much  as  $15 
in  the  height  of  the  season,  complained  of  the 
hardship  of  losing  six  months'  work  during  the 
year.  "I'm  no  millionaire,"  she  said.  A  flower 
maker  stayed  in  one  factory  all  the  year  round, 
but  her  earnings  varied  from  $3.00  to  $1 1  a  week. 
Seldom  was  there  enough  work  to  keep  everyone 
busy  all  the  time,  and  in  the  summer,  when  there 
were  no  flowers  to  make,  they  could  earn  only 
$3.00  or  $4.00  a  week  at  branching  holly.  She 
was  ashamed  of  getting  such  low  wages  at  her  age 
(twenty-two),  and  besides  she  wanted  to  help  her 
poor  parents  in  Italy.  In  her  struggles  to  make 
both  ends  meet  she  had  become  convinced  of  the 
need  of  a  flower-makers'  union  and  had  even 
thought  of  starting  such  an  organization. 


118 


SEASONS 


Seventeen-year-old  Mimi  Contoni  in  three  years' 
work  had  tried  three  occupations.  Her  record 
reads  as  follows: 

Operator  on  underwear,  8  months;  laid  off,  slack; 
idle  4  months. 

Lampshade  maker,  i  year;  laid  off,  slack;  idle  5 
months. 

Addressing  envelopes,  2  months;  laid  off,  slack; 
idle  3  months. 

"  I  have  had  bad  luck  getting  work,"  Mimi  said. 
"Wherever  I  went,  I  was  laid  off." 

When  Rose  Cellini  was  visited  at  the  end  of  a 
long  period  of  slack  time,  instead  of  showing  any 
signs  of  benefit  from  the  rest,  she  was  much  run 
down  from  the  strain  and  worry  of  her  irregular 
work.  Three  times  within  the  year  immediately 
past  she  had  undergone  the  harrowing  experience 
of  losing  a  job  and  hunting  a  new  one,  only  to  re- 
turn each  night  to  their  tenement  home  of  three 
miserable  rooms  where  a  large  family  was  clamor- 
ing for  her  earnings. 

The  irregular  earnings  of  the  two  daughters  in 
the  Lombardi  family  were  the  principal  source  of 
income  for  its  12  members,  ranging  from  the  father 
of  forty-two,  who  earned  a  precarious  living  by 
peddling,  to  the  three-week-old  baby.  Mary,  aged 
eighteen,  and  Millie  seventeen,  were  both  machine 
operators.  Their  earnings  week  by  week  during  a 
year  are  shown  at  the  top  of  the  following 
page. 


1 19 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 


Mary 

Mill 

ie 

$5.00 

$12.30* 

S5-67 

$8.00 

$3.00 

$9.58 

$7.00 

$3.22 

6.00 

1 1.56 

8.25 

12.00 

4.00 

7.00 

7.00 

9.42 

5.00 

12.80 

7-27 

12.00 

3.00 

8.00 

7.00 

8. 1 1 

4.00 

1 1. 9 1 

10.43 

12.00 

3.00 

7.00 

•  34 

10.47 

5.85 

1 1.21 

10.96 

12.00 

4.00 

7.00 

4.70 

10.57 

4.10 

10.23 

9.50 

12.00 

4.00 

7.00 

5.00 

9.30 

5.00 

1 1.02 

10.25 

1. 10 

4-75 

7.00 

5.00 

2.90 

7.50 

10.20 

9.00 

6.71 

5.50 

7.00 

2.00 

5.90 

7.50 

6.68 

10.25 

6.75 

6.00 

5.85 

5.10 

7.50 

10.14 

6.80 

5.50 

7.00 

4.13 

6.00 

9.50 

1.61 

6.00 

7.00 

7.50 

9.10 

8.42 

6.50 

7.00 

6.65 

9.00 

10.00 

9-73 

7.00 

4.00 

8.10 

1.63 

Tota 

1 

$407.30 

Total 

$277.22 

Average  per  wee 

k 

7.83 

Average  per  wee 

k      . 

5  33 

The  fact  that  they  had  been  able  to  reach  wages 
of  $12.80  and  $10.57  at  one  time  or  another  dur- 
ing the  year  shows  that  they  must  have  possessed 
a  certain  amount  of  skill  and  speed.  Yet  for 
four  weeks  Mary  was  entirely  out  of  work  in  spite 
of  employment  in  seven  places  during  the  year. 
For  twenty  weeks  she  received  less  than  her  aver- 
age of  $7.83  for  the  year.  Millie  likewise  had  tried 
eight  positions  during  the  year,  but  even  with 
such  hustling  she  was  unemployed  for  five  full 
weeks  and  for  eighteen  weeks  had  received  less 
than  her  average  of  $5.33  for  the  year.  Such 
irregularity  of  income  cannot  but  demoralize  any 
standards  that  a  family  might  hope  to  maintain, 
and  no  mere  statistical  record  can  portray  the 
strain  on  seventeen-  and  eighteen-year-old  girls 
who  try  to  support  a  family  under  such  desperate 
conditions  of  employment. 

120 


SEASONS 

The  amount  of  loss  from  other  causes  is  almost 
insignificant  when  compared  with  the  great  loss 
due  to  irregularity.  Only  12  per  cent  had  lost 
time  after  quitting  their  jobs  voluntarily.  Some- 
times this  was  because  of  bad  workroom  condi- 
tions, sometimes  long  hours,  sometimes  because  of 
a  quarrel,  or  for  more  trivial  reasons.  Usually 
when  a  girl  leaves  a  job  of  her  own  accord  to  get 
better  wages  elsewhere,  or  perhaps  to  take  up 
some  other  kind  of  work,  she  has  a  definite  position 
in  view  before  she  parts  with  her  old  one.  She  is 
thus  not  likely  to  lose  time  on  this  account. 

Vacations  taken  by  the  girls  themselves  with- 
out pay  had  been  enjoyed  by  only  the  small  pro- 
portion of  17  per  cent,  and  only  54  girls  out  of  the 
whole  group  had  had  any  vacation  with  pay. 
Many  things  account  for  the  fact  that  they  do 
not  take  voluntary  vacations.  In  the  first  place, 
many  have  had  long  enforced  periods  of  idleness, 
and  those  who  have  suffered  from  unemployment 
cannot  afford  to  take  any.  Even  if  they  could, 
they  complain  of  no  place  to  which  to  go.  A  for- 
tunate few  have  relations  or  friends  in  the  country, 
others  perhaps  are  able  to  secure  a  week  or  two 
in  the  country  through  a  settlement  or  fresh  air 
agency.  But  usually  a  "vacation  without  pay" 
means  staying  at  home  in  a  hot,  noisy  tenement. 
Even  the  shop  is  preferable  on  a  warm  summer's 
day.  One  girl  said  she  would  rather  work  than 
stay  at  home.  Another  girl  took  two  weeks'  vaca- 
tion but  did  not  know  where  to  go,  and  at  the  end 

121 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN   INDUSTRY 

of  that  time  she  said  she  was  more  miserable  than 
if  she  had  been  working.  "A  vacation  don't  do 
much  good  if  you  don't  go  away." 

The  largest  proportion  had  lost  some  time  on 
account  of  holidays  without  pay.  Only  17.5  per 
cent  of  the  women  had  not  lost  any  pay  because 
of  holidays.  This  does  not  mean  that  all  the 
others  were  paid  for  holidays.  In  some  cases,  as 
in  laundries,  the  work  continued  on  legal  holidays 
as  well  as  on  other  days.  In  other  instances,  as 
in  the  flower  industry,  work  was  often  required  on 
legal  holidays  occurring  in  the  busy  season,  while 
there  might  be  no  work  in  the  slack  season  when 
other  holidays  occurred,  and  when  the  loss  of  time 
would  be  attributed  to  the  slack  season.  In  manu- 
facturing industries,  forewomen  were  always  paid 
for  holidays,  as  were  most  of  the  stock  and  errand 
girls.  In  some  of  the  smaller  shops,  where  only 
two  or  three  week  workers  were  employed  who 
had  been  there  for  some  time  and  in  whom  the 
employer  might  have  a  sort  of  personal  interest, 
they  might  be  paid  for  legal  holidays.  But  the 
rank  and  file  in  the  workroom  had  to  lose  a  day's 
pay  when  a  holiday  appeared  on  the  calendar.  A 
hand  embroiderer  in  a  fashionable  Fifth  Avenue 
dressmaking  establishment  was  surprised  when  she 
was  asked  if  she  was  paid  for  holidays.  "Perhaps 
there  is  one  place  in  New  York  where  they  pay 
for  holidays.     But  I  don't  know  it." 

An  immigrant  woman,  employed  as  a  "bushel- 
woman"   on    men's   clothing,    worked    nearly    all 


SEASONS 

holidays.  "No  worka,  no  pay.  If  worka,  pay." 
Again,  some  girls  were  paid  only  for  Christmas  and 
New  Year's  Day,  when  the  pay  was  considered  as 
a  "kind  of  present"  from  the  firm.  Others  lost 
not  only  legal  holidays,  but  when  employed  with 
Jewish  firms  all  the  Jewish  holidays  as  well.  Some- 
times these  would  amount  to  as  much  as  a  whole 
week  altogether.  In  one  instance,  a  girl  employed 
in  an  underwear  shop  was  out  two  days  when  the 
shop  was  closed  on  account  of  Jewish  holidays, 
and  to  make  up  the  loss  in  wages  she  was  required 
to  work  three  nights  until  9  p.m.  during  the  fol- 
lowing week. 

Another  loss  was  incurred  through  the  half  holi- 
day on  Saturday  in  summer  which  was  allowed  in 
nearly  all  shops.  But  in  the  words  of  a  foliage 
maker,  "What's  the  use  of  giving  us  half  a  day 
off  if  they  don't  pay  you  for  it?  They  say  I  get 
$6.00  a  week  and  then  they  dock  me  50  cents  for 
the  half  day  on  Saturday.    That  ain't  right." 

The  general  attitude  of  employers  toward  pay- 
ing for  holidays  and  vacations  was  summed  up  by 
one  who  objected,  "Why  should  I  pay  for  holi- 
days?" A  few  were  willing  to  pay  week  workers 
full  wages,  but  piece  workers  were  generally  ex- 
pected to  lose  their  earnings.  In  some  of  the 
organized  industries  the  union  has  been  able  to 
stipulate  for  payment  for  three  holidays  in  the 
year,  but  in  few  of  the  shops  included  in  this  in- 
vestigation were  there  such  agreements.  One  firm 
manufacturing   calendars    was    almost    the   only 

9  "23 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

exception  noted,  paying  for  two  weeks'  vacation  to 
workers  who  had  been  in  its  employ  two  years. 
The  manager  in  another  firm  which  closed  its 
workroom  during  the  first  week  in  July  said,  "We 
could  not  pay  the  whole  bunch  for  a  week  when 
there  is  no  product."  This  was  the  general  opin- 
ion. Few  employers  had  realized  that  a  vacation 
with  pay  to  their  workers  might  benefit  the  estab- 
lishment in  providing  a  good  rest,  new  strength, 
and  renewed  interest  in  the  work. 

It  is  a  matter  for  comment  that  three-fourths 
of  the  women  had  lost  no  time  on  account  of  ill- 
ness. In  spite  of  the  protest  of  employers  that 
women  are  irregular  workers,  the  women  inter- 
viewed showed  a  tendency  to  disregard  their  physi- 
cal condition.  Many  had  always  been  accustomed 
to  a  low  standard  of  vitality,  so  that  they  con- 
tinued at  work  when  others  of  different  health 
standards  would  feel  fully  justified  in  remaining 
at  home  and  taking  care  of  themselves.  This  in- 
difference to  their  health  and  physical  condition 
perhaps  accounted  in  some  cases  for  their  lack  of 
ambition  and  low  earning  capacity.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  fact  of  long  periods  of  enforced  unem- 
ployment accounts  for  their  determination  to  stick 
on  as  long  as  work  is  to  be  had. 

CONTROL  BY  WORKERS  AND  THE  STATE 

In  the  organized  trades  some  attempt  has  been 
made  by  employes  themselves  to  secure  the  dis- 
tribution of  work  during  the  slack  season  among 

124 


SEASONS 

all  the  workers  on  a  part-time  basis,  as  has  been 
done  in  some  shops  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry. 
The  reduction  of  overtime  and  long  hours  of  work 
is  also  a  factor  in  regularizing  employment.  In- 
directly, legislation  and  trade  unions,  through  their 
effect  upon  hours,  have  thus  influenced  regularity 
in  industry. 

No  direct  legislative  action  either  to  stabilize 
employment  or  to  compensate  workers  for  their 
loss  of  earnings  has  been  taken  in  this  country. 
Unemployment  insurance  has  been  tried  in  some 
European  countries  but  never  in  the  United  States. 

The  only  conscious  effort  in  this  direction  made 
by  the  government  is  in  the  establishment  of  pub- 
lic employment  offices.  While  such  offices  can  do 
little  to  stabilize  the  employment  within  an  estab- 
lishment, they  can  at  least  facilitate  the  readjust- 
ment of  a  worker  from  one  establishment  to  an- 
other with  the  least  possible  loss  of  time.  Not 
all  establishments  in  the  same  industry  experience 
slack  business  at  the  same  time.  If  an  entire  in- 
dustry is  slack,  so  that  no  opening  can  be  found 
for  idle  workers,  such  a  bureau  ought  to  be 
equipped  to  effect  the  transfer  of  the  worker  to 
some  other  line  of  work  where  her  experience  and 
training  may  be  of  use. 


125 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  PAY  ENVELOPE 

THE  pay  envelope  that  a  woman  receives  at 
the  end  of  her  week's  work  is  the  reward 
for  the  labor  and  time  she  has  spent  in  shop 
and  factory.  For  the  sake  of  what  her  pay  envel- 
ope contains  she  will  sit  hour  after  hour  at  a  sew- 
ing machine  guiding  hundreds  of  corset  covers; 
at  a  table  piled  high  with  stacks  of  red  and  yellow 
petals  to  be  made  into  flowers;  in  an  ice-room 
dipping  hundreds  of  thousands  of  creams  into  hot 
chocolate;  or  bend  ten  hours  a  day  over  an  em- 
broidery frame,  though  her  head  and  eyes  ache 
with  the  strain.  She  will  sort  dirty  rags  until  her 
throat  and  lungs  are  choked  with  dust;  will  stand 
packing  beef  tea  tablets  neatly  in  tissue  paper,  or 
examining  paper  patterns,  until  her  feet  swell  and 
her  back  aches;  she  will  keep  up  with  the  relent- 
less speed  of  a  machine  which  announces  by  a 
ring  that  50  paper  bags  have  been  pasted  and 
printed  and  must  be  removed  before  the  machine 
can  continue.  The  muscles  in  her  arms  are  swollen, 
but  there  is  no  pause  in  the  ten-hour  day. 

For  what  this  envelope  means  in  terms  of  food, 
rent,  and  clothing  for  herself  and  her  family,  she 
will  spend  nine  or  ten  hours  a  day  six  days  a  week 

126 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

in  a  crowded  Broadway  loft  or  a  Third  Street 
sweat  shop,  sometimes  in  a  damp  basement,  ex- 
hausting herself  to  such  a  point  that  at  night  she 
can  scarcely  eat  her  supper  before  crawling  into 
bed.  Often  too  tired  to  share  in  the  pleasures 
that  make  life  worth  living,  she  is  without  the 
strength  or  ambition  to  make  use  of  opportunities 
to  improve  herself  or  her  condition. 

In  return  for  these  sacrifices  of  time,  labor, 
sometimes  even  of  health  and  ambition,  what 
does  the  pay  envelope  contain  to  make  the  effort 
worth  while? 

Wages  may  be  regarded  from  two  points  of 
view.  On  the  one  hand  they  are  the  expression  in 
terms  of  money  value  of  the  necessities  and  luxuries 
that  the  worker  may  command  for  herself  and 
those  dependent  on  her.  From  this  point  of  view 
it  is  not  so  much  the  weekly  rate  of  wages  as  the 
year's  income  that  is  significant  and  all  important 
to  the  welfare  of  the  worker. 

Wages  represent  also  the  price  at  which  a  worker 
is  able  to  sell  her  time  and  labor  to  her  employer. 
It  may  or  may  not  represent  her  real  value  as  an 
employe  to  him.  The  price  she  is  paid  is  governed 
by  a  great  many  different  factors.  Wages  vary 
not  only  from  industry  to  industry,  but  within  an 
industry  they  may  vary  with  the  occupation,  with 
differences  in  demands  upon  the  skill  and  speed, 
strength  and  endurance,  and  age  and  experience 
of  the  individual  workers.  Wages  and  advance- 
ment may  depend  upon  education,  special  train- 

127 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

ing,  and  knowledge.  Again,  wages  may  be  deter- 
mined by  the  bargaining  power  of  the  individual 
worker  and  of  her  fellow-workers.  The  physical 
surroundings  in  the  shop  and  home  also  affect 
earning  capacity.  Finally,  her  capacity  may  be 
limited  by  her  home  surroundings,  and  the  op- 
portunities for  rest  and  rebuilding  of  the  day's 
waste  of  energy  and  vitality,  by  lack  of  sleep,  fresh 
air,  clean  surroundings,  nourishing  food,  proper 
clothing,  and  recreation.  In  other  words,  as  the 
earnings  of  a  worker  who  must  be  self-supporting 
determine  what  her  standard  of  living  may  be, 
so  the  standard  of  living  in  turn  is  one  of  the  most 
important  factors  in  determining  her  maximum 
capacity. 

EARNINGS  BY  INDUSTRIES 

The  wage  statistics  given  in  this  chapter  are 
important  not  so  much  for  the  actual  rates  shown, 
but  in  indicating  the  influence  of  such  factors  on 
wages  as  age,  years  of  experience,  degree  of  skill 
required,  and  the  time  in  this  country.  Wages 
differ  widely  from  industry  to  industry,  as  Table 
17  shows.  Of  the  1,090  women  reporting,  718 
were  week  and  372  piece  workers.  The  statistics 
in  the  following  tables  and  discussion  include  both 
classes  and  present  actual  weekly  rates  for  the 
week  workers;  but  for  piece  workers,  what  they 
usually  earn  when  they  work  full  time. 

The  location  of  the  median  varies  from  the 
group  receiving  $5.00  to  $6.00  who  are  employed 
on    "all   other   foodstuffs"   (chiefly  groceries  and 

128 


PAY    ENVELOPE 


N   01  t-  f)\C   IH   M   N 


0>  M     •     •     •  ro    •  « 


NT3    »Cl« 


t/>0  t*»  M  r»  i/l\0  t^ro     ■  w     ■     ■mrortM     .  ro    -f^ 


W  uii^w 


ONtl'l^OlMINN'fl/lOlNfl     ■  *t 


'fl^f-W* 


<>C«OOrO'-'t^'3'Tfi/>i/ii-<f3NN     -Tj-fO* 


00^   a   (J  « 


O  a^H*  "***  unfifir-MnTtn^Ht't    •  N 


OOHrOH^QOooONTtf^QOfOfOHW)     •  >©  O  <S 


O  r-i/i^-*to*c:r~<N  u^Oi^J"^  iflf^N*o  <*)■*!■< 


NTttvO«nWHfloOONHifli-^wir*l 


r<5  O. 


'OGWN'-'t^C^OO        ■«    M    H    U]«lflH(*)       .    I/}  k 


J5l 


:/  - 
II 


S  S.  u  s  ra 


«1 

2 


•M  si  & 
2£uQ 


'  rt  &*s     ' 

2  V  4) 

~    i-    >   OJ    OJ 

s-2  r  x  o. 

3  6  fc  8  2  o 
■3;  s  o  m  o  w 

3   S—   Q.S-0 

[29 


uo: 


S-1      »      0      «A 

01  O  i)  E 
a>  M  i,  aj 

3^31) 

s~v2xi 

JS  d  3  C 

7J-  S  «l 

o_  <«    - 

•3   §  e   C 

jlgf jg|3 

*  3-|  rt  gjjS  I 

OwO,Q 


U    S 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

biscuits)  and  on  "all  other  paper  goods"  (like 
sample  cards,  bookbinding,  calendars,  and  waste 
paper  and  rags),  to  the  $10  to  $12  group  of  those 
employed  on  women's  cloaks  and  suits  and  on 
headwear. 

A  comparison  of  these  figures  furnished  by  the 
women  with  the  maximum  wages  reported  by  their 
jemployers,  as  shown  in  Table  18,  is  interesting. 
While  59  per  cent  of  the  employers  stated  that 
the  maximum  wage  paid  women  in  their  shops  was 
$15  or  more,  only  50,  or  about  5  per  cent  of  the 
women  employed  in  those  shops,  reported  that 
their  usual  full-time  earnings  amounted  to  that 
jnuch.  Eighteen,  or  7  per  cent  of  243  establish- 
ments which  made  statements  as  to  the  prevailing 
wage  in  their  factories,  reported  $15  or  more.1 
The  largest  proportion  of  these  factories  was  found 
in  the  manufacture  of  women's  tailored  garments 
and  of  headwear.  In  five  of  the  15  women's  gar- 
ment factories,  the  largest  group  of  workers  was 
receiving  $15  or  more,  and  in  four  of  the  six  firms 
making  straw  hats  $20  or  more.  Both  of  these 
industries,  however,  are  very  seasonal,  giving  their 
workers  employment  for  only  six  or  eight  months 
out  of  the  year.  Moreover,  the  straw  hat  industry 
is  highly  skilled,  while  the  women's  garment  in- 
dustry is  almost  entirely  organized.  -To  summar- 
ize, then,  although  in  213,  or  83  per  cent  of  the 
establishments,  the  maximum  wage  paid  was  $12 
or  more,  it  was  the  prevailing  wage  in  but  54,  or 

1  Sec  Appendix  C,  Tabic  7,  p.  332. 
130 


PAY    ENVELOPE 


_  &> 

o  r~^-Oi'-'oo  »^o  -to 

W     N     M              W              N    »H     M 

H  W  M  KJM 

1-  o 

e 

V 

B 
o 

& 

o 

■a 
'3 
a 

a 

to 

d 

S 

3 

p 

'P. 
a 

B 

y 

s 

o 
'C 
o 

CS 

<s  o  o 

w     E 

O  M  "^  M     •     •  O     ■  H     • 

•   M    O  »-•    N      •      • 

"4 

$20 

and 
less 
than 

$25 

NflCONWM^     •      •»■« 

.       .    M    tl-      •        •       • 

irtO 

$15 
and 
less 
than 

$20 

*Mt<)*0  *ft«uifl 

w  Tfr*)[H^t(*)M 

00  „• 

$12 

and 
less 
than 
$15 

i/^trjN  ►-•  TfN  inmro^: 

00«»O»Mn 

MOO 

$10 

and 
less 
than 

$12 

MM        .tOqHH 

■"tfO 

$9 
and 
less 
than 

$10 

N    M    M    M    M        •       . 

00  »-» 

~0 

oo  £  'A  a  Oi 
w  5  Ji  ^:<i% 

:«::-::::: 

(SJ    m        •    fO      •       ■       ■ 

i"6 

SR  eg  oo 

CO  N 

3 

"3 
o 
H 

s       .         .         . 

sets 

.dren's  clothing 

•  '  *s  ■•■  • 

•     •     •  >  m  §     ' 

2  8    8    -g 

•3   P   M—       —    •       .     . 

|»g 

Flowers  and  feathers 
Men's  and  boys'  cloth 
Women's  tailored  gar 
Wholesale  dressmakin 
Muslin  underwear  an 
Hand  embroidery 
All  other  women's  an 
Paper  boxes 
Other  paper  goods 
Tobacco 
Candy  . 

Other  foodstuffs 
Headwear     . 
Textiles  and  miscellar 
Rubber,  fur,  and  leat 
Miscellaneous  manufo 
Laundry 

o  ■* 


E'S 


'31 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

22  per  cent,  and  only  14  per  cent  of  the  women 
reported  their  full-time  earnings  at  so  high  a 
rate. 

On  the  other  hand,  though  54  per  cent  of  the 
women  earned  less  than  $8.00  in  a  full  week,  only 
53,  or  22  per  cent  of  the  firms,  reported  their  wage 
so  low,  and  it  was  the  maximum  in  three,  or  1  per 
cent  of  the  firms. 

This  low  maximum  was  found  especially  in 
shops  where  the  work  was  unskilled  or  where  only 
one  process  was  done.  In  one  candy  factory  the 
maximum  wage  for  40  girls  engaged  in  carrying 
plats  was  $7.00,  for  40  girls  who  were  packing  and 
wrapping,  $8.00,  for  12  girls  doing  chocolate  dip- 
ping by  machine,  $10,  and  for  16  hand  dippers,  $12. 
The  maximum  wage  in  a  factory  where  200  women 
were  employed  in  packing  spices  was  $9.00. 

In  18  shops  the  employers  stated  frankly  that 
the  wages  of  their  largest  group  did  not  reach  over 
$7.00  a  week.1  These  included  three  paper  box 
concerns,  three  shops  for  sorting  waste  paper  and 
rags,  four  candy  factories,  three  grocery  or  cracker 
factories,  one  silk  ribbon  firm,  one  laundry,  one 
metal  goods  and  one  flower  factory,  and  one  shop 
making  women's  cloaks  and  suits.  Yet  in  these 
same  trades  were  also  found  firms  where  the  lar- 
gest group  was  receiving  much  higher  wages.  In  a 
candy  and  paper-box  factory  the  largest  group  was 
receiving  between  $10  and  $12.  In  most  of  the 
industries  and  in  nearly  every  establishment,  there 

1  See  Appendix  C,  Table  7,  p.  332. 
132 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

was  the  possibility  of  a  limited  few  rising  to  as 
much  as  $12  a  week. 

WEEKLY  RATES  BY  PROCESS  OF  WORK 

While  the  wages  vary  considerably  from  in- 
dustry to  industry,  a  classification  of  those  paid 
to  women  in  certain  processes,  irrespective  of  the 
particular  product,  will  perhaps  give  a  clearer  pic- 
ture of  the  return  for  work  performed.  In  the 
last  chapter  it  was  pointed  out  that  similar  pro- 
cesses are  found  in  industries  with  widely  dissimilar 
products.  Table  19  shows  the  full  time  weekly 
earnings  of  workers  in  similar  processes. 

The  best  paid  processes  were  operating  on  the 
power  sewing  machine  in  the  needle  trades  and 
fine  hand  sewing.  The  majority  of  the  women  in 
these  lines  of  work  were  paid  $9.00  or  more  a  week. 
Operating  power  machines  was  also  the  work  in 
which  the  largest  proportion  earning  $12  or  more 
a  week  was  found.  This  may  be  ranked  as  the 
most  skilled  work  in  the  needle  trades,  not  so 
much  on  account  of  the  actual  difficulty  of  the 
process  as  on  account  of  the  speed,  accuracy,  and 
application  demanded.  The  coarser  hand  sewing, 
at  which  half  the  women  were  receiving  $8.00  or 
more,  ranked  third.  These  three  processes  to- 
gether included  about  half  of  the  Italian  women 
who  were  in  manufacturing.  That  such  a  large 
proportion  of  Italians  chosen  at  random  are  in  this 
skilled  work  indicates  that  they  are  not  limited  to 
the  unskilled  or  the  lowest  paid  work  in  industry. 

•33 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 


c 

XI 

<v 

—    Tf  —    —          t^irv—          —        VDO00 

U-s  o 

<I 

<N  vo  vo   <s         N   m«         rr\        Nmm 

!l 

n            rt            —            — 

^ 

cu 

-  S  o 

ci      •  <N   <N         <s   —      ■           •         m     ■   rrv 

ITS    ^- 

(S       •           —                            •              • 

"** 

<n  "3  £  E  "^ 

t~»  mOC    «i         'J-  N    't-         rr>         ir\  ~    rrv 

m  — 

rs              <s              — 

^ON 

<v 

5S 

O  "O    <"    E    <S 

Oi  t  i^h>         *J-vO   r)          ir\        On  <N   — 

■*  - 

_   p   in   rt   _ 
feft  rtii-^^ 

rd        —    rc>              — 

rr\  ^ 

(/> 

00 

C 

c 

_-a  <»  E  o 

«)NO   C>        moo    —          "^         T  (S    — 

PT\  O 

(U 

On  is    c«   n3    _ 

MM-                 -                              - 

2  o 

>> 

Ja: 

OC  "E   &   rt    On 

M^O   MO        Mfvn        CO        VO    <S    -tf- 

Tf  r» 

% 

6ft  p  jv  _c  6ft 

—                 N                 — 

°^d\ 

<u 

E 

-Q     «     C 

-    -    N    ir          <N  00    ^-        VO          W  —    N 

t»  ,^- 

'& 

r~>  is  i/>  r3  oo 
^  rt  —  -*=*** 

rTN  —    —    (N               m                — 

2  S 

~5 

CD 

.  _  -T3    Ul    C 

N   N   NX         «-\  OV  rTN        m          O    ^O 

O  VO 

O 

VO    r    "i    «    N 
6ft   g  _0J  JZ  6ft 

(S   m         m              —              rfi        — 

r^ 

J= 

c 

_-o  c/i  c 

NOOfSm       oOOOro        o         'tO'O 

Tf   O 

I 

"^  is    ui   rt  vo 
6ft   g  JU  J3  6ft 

(N    —          fS                 —                 m         —    m 

!T^ 

£ 

Tf"2   S   rt    "^ 

rA  pa  <s    •>*■           •    O    <S         O        OO^O 

VO   •<!■ 

6ft  j=  JD  _c  6ft 

-                -            •   -                rn                     - 

^Ov 

"2  c 
£  rt  ■*■ 

T     ■   —    u"\           -00-         rev        N   <t  N 

O\00 

Jj-i^ 

«   N 

i~   *-• 

e         i  i 

<u   C 

<«          o             •- 

.E  £    ■    ■  £    •    •    -Sa"    •■£    ■ 

i j    C                O          00  w.         i-    _          k- 

rrf   „               >-          C    00     ..  >    O          rt 

gbc.       o.    •  •-  e  w>  -*  *-    ■  w    • 

B.S          00  <D         "g'c.E    B0«-         -, 

BCT3    00  C    C          Crti-Crt         1? 

0 

£ 

£  _  £  ">  2            -a  £  rt  <u       -£  > 

S^  -^  E    .-o^  E  cxo.  .  S  * 
sprt-gc-^       g  «       eg  -  S  ^  -S 

rt.E-^w.^^C.PC^^^^a; 

s'ougl.S'aaSssSs.'S 
a-S.E-Srt^rtila^S^S^ 
OU.U.CI     a-c-U     a.     O  — 

"!3 

o 

M 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

In  the  other  processes,  few  of  the  women  had 
risen  to  $12  a  week,  and  the  majority  received  less 
than  $8.00.  Among  the  general  workers  and  learn- 
ers, half  were  earning  less  than  $6.00,  these  low 
wages  being  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  they 
were  beginners  at  their  work  and  were  receiving 
some  training.  It  is  a  more  serious  matter,  how- 
ever, that  low  wages  prevailed  in  the  groups  en- 
gaged in  packing,  wrapping,  and  examining,  pro- 
cesses often  simple  enough  but  which  rarely  serve 
as  a  means  of  promotion  to  more  highly  paid  work. 

WEEKLY  RATES  BY  AGES 

The  advancement  that  workers  might  hope  for 
is  suggested  in  the  average  weekly  wages  paid  to 
those  in  different  age  groups.  In  Table  20  are 
presented  the  full  time  weekly  earnings  of  girls 
and  women  according  to  age. 

While  the  median  earnings  for  the  group  as  a 
whole  were  $7.68,  for  the  different  age  groups  it 
varied  from  $4.83  for  those  under  sixteen  years  of 
age,  to  $9.88  for  those  twenty-five  years  of  age  or 
more.  The  women  twenty-one  years  and  over 
were  able  to  command  nearly  $5.00  more  a  week 
for  their  work  than  the  girls  who  were  fourteen  or 
fifteen  years  old.  The  difference  in  wages  between 
the  groups  over  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  those 
between  eighteen  and  twenty-one  indicates  that 
women  have  not  reached  their  maximum  earning 
capacity  at  twenty  or  twenty-one,  an  age  at  which 
large  numbers  drop  out  of  industry  to  marry. 

'35 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

When  women  remain  longer  at  work  they  are  evi- 
dently able  to  earn  more,  or  they  turn  to  work  in 
which  there  is  a  better  future. 


TABLE  20. — FULL  TIME  WEEKLY  EARNINGS  OF  ITAL- 
IAN WOMEN  WORKERS,   BY  AGE 


Full  time  weekly 
earnings 


Less  than  $4 

54  and  less  than  $5 

55  and  less  than  $6 
$6  and  less  than  87 
$7  and  less  than  $8 
$8  and  less  than  $9 
$9  and  less  than  $10 
$10  and  less  than  $12 
S12  and  less  than  $15 
$15  and  over 


Women  who  were 


Less 
than 

16 
years 

old 


22 
43 
23 
'3 
8 
1 

4 
1 


16 

years 

and 

less 

than 

18 


6 
33 

72 
53 
37 
21 
21 
1? 
9 
3 


18 

years 

and 

less 

than 

21 


2 
'5 
44 
49 
53 
44 
4i 
53 
26 
12 


21 

years 

and 

less 

than 

25 


5 

■  3 
20 

25 
>9 
29 
40 

29 
16 


25 
years 

or 
more 


2 

6 

1 1 

21 

12 

'9 
16 

29 
35 
•9 


All 
women 


32 
102 
163 
.56 

•35 
104 

I  I  ! 
I38 

99 
50 


Total 


"'5 


270 


339 


196 


170 


1 ,090  a 


Median  earnings 


$4.83 


S6.45 


15 


)-55 


S9.88 


$7-68 


a  Of  the  1,095  women  investigated,  four  received  maintenance  in 
addition  to  money  wages,  and  one  did  not  know  the  rate  of  wages  in 
a  new  position. 

But  the  table  also  shows  decided  variations  in 
each  age  and  wage  group.  For  instance,  while  the 
largest  proportion  among  the  i  34  who  were  receiv- 
ing less  than  $5.00  a  week  were  girls  under  sixteen, 
yet  there  were  1 3  women  twenty-one  years  or  over 
who  were  not  receiving  more  than  this  small  wage. 
And  among  the  287  who  were  receiving  $10  a  week 
or  more  we  find  a  girl  who  had  not  yet  reached  her 

[36 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

sixteenth  birthday,  27  between  sixteen  and  eighteen 
years  of  age,  and  83  who  were  twenty-five  years  of 
age  or  older.  Thus  we  find  classed  in  the  same 
wage  group  with  Maria  Mazzini,  an  ambitious 
American-born  girl  of  seventeen  years,  who  was  an 
operator  on  muslin  underwear  at  $10  a  week,  piece 
work;  a  widow  of  fifty-nine  who  had  been  a  to- 
bacco stripper  for  twelve  years  and  who  also 
earned  fioa  week;  and  Mrs.  Maroni,  forty-five 
years  old,  an  examiner  of  cloaks  and  suits,  who 
left  school  in  Italy  when  she  was  seven  "to  come 
to  the  United  States,"  and  had  been  working  here 
since  the  age  of  nine. 

Little  fourteen-year-old  Claudia,  who  had  left 
the  sixth  grade  in  public  school  a  month  earlier 
to  dress  dolls  at  piece  work  and  made  $4.50  a 
week,  earned  more  than  a  girl  of  eighteen  who 
worked  as  stock  girl  in  a  department  store  at 
$4.00,  and  a  woman  twenty-three  years  old  who 
packed  nuts  at  $4.00  a  week. 

Less  than  $6.00  a  week  was  received  by  98  out 
of  the  705  women  eighteen  years  of  age  or  older. 
In  other  words,  one  out  of  every  seven  women — not 
children  or  minors — had  to  support  herself  on  less 
than  $6.00  a  week  or  receive  aid  from  other  sources. 

WAGES  BY  YEARS  OF  EXPERIENCE 

Table  21  shows  a  general  increase  in  earnings 
according  to  the  number  of  years  that  the  women 
have  been  at  work,  but  here,  too,  are  found  marked 
differences  in  the  length  of  experience  of  women 
who  receive  the  same  wages. 

137 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 


u 

Z 

UJ 

°  5 

X 


c 

<s  0  0  -<i-ii>«-vo  r—  t^  0 

00 

os 

r^OO    ir\rr\0    —    <"^  GS  "** 

&<* 

2 

ITS 

cd 

O 
E 

c* 

D  >- 

_      .    ^  _    N    _    ^    Tj-CO    "■* 

0 

>>o 

(S 

~ 

t^ 

tft 

1^ 

00 

<u  — 

c 

—    fO>0    O    "^  O  30    C.  "^  I^ 

"*■ 

00 

O  c 

M          ""                 ""    *" 

00 

& 

—   rt 

w 

<"    <n 

0 

rc\ 

^ 

rtii 

- 

.   —    t^  —  *o    — 00    i^mi^ 

1^ 

q 

o 

0) 

c 

—   —   —   —   m  <s 

(S 

0 

£ 

C3 

^•0 

&k 

C 

V1    (/l 

c 

•   PltNir\NmC\--N 

fS 

■^ 

<u 

-    «    NN    flN    - 

*o 

•O 

- 

OS 

T3 

"^ 

*^ 

O 

c 

•  r^  r~»  1^00  ^\o  iam^- 

CO 

00 
0 

Xi 

c 
E 

(1) 

N   rftfftfl   N   m- 

(S 

06 

«5= 

«   3 

C 

(N    t~»  t>-  •*0O    t^  ir\  —  \©      • 

t^ 

0 

OJ 

C)    r<\  ~    —   —    — 

ro 

£ 

J3 

aj  — 

C\  rr^  —    ^-CiOVOO   ""\  — 

■* 

00 
Ol 

C3 

<s   T  <s  —   — 

■* 

_    C 

C3 

x: 

6ft 

Ih 

"2    C 

rs 

CM>N   ^■'f'  ir\\C  O    N    rf\ 

O 

m 

>> 

—    ir\  rf  (S    — 

t-^ 

«/> 

(/) 

eo 

c 

c 

OJ 

j>% 

jjC 

O 

u^\o  r^oo  c\  —  *&&h 

g 

«V/  'f,  <f>  tfi  >Sr   _    _ 

'CCCCCCrtrt 

ao 

«   rt   rt   rt   rt   rtxx; 

P3 

_c  _c  x:  x:  .n  .c  —  *-• 

C 

"3"  •"J*JWW*,»1B11| 

'''   «   «   »1  «  l«   l»   «   ">   1- 

E 

P3 

5              —          -0  -a  fc 

0-> 

3 

■ — 

c 

U. 

•fj  -3  T3  T3  "D  T3  "3    C    C    i_ 

n 

CCCCCCrtrOO 

O 

«rtrtrtrtflMONiri 

H 

-J  </>  fyi  <s>  <s>  -ft  ui'yvwtft 

^ 

O  S 


138 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

In  each  of  the  10  wage  groups,  with  one  excep- 
tion, from  those  receiving  less  than  $4.00  a  week 
to  those  paid  $1 5  or  more,  are  found  women  whose 
experience  varied  from  less  than  twelve  months  to 
those  who  had  been  wage-earners  fifteen  years  or 
even  longer.  Thus  one  woman  who  had  been 
working  forty-three  of  the  fifty-three  years  of  her 
life,  eight  of  those  years  at  tobacco  stripping, 
made  $5.50  a  week.  Maria  Martini,  a  tired,  old- 
looking  rose  maker  of  twenty-six  earned  only  $5.00 
a  week,  though  she  had  been  working  since  she 
was  ten  years  old — no  more  than  little  Mamie 
Ciaccio,  a  youngster  of  fourteen,  who  was  just 
starting  to  make  flowers  at  $5.00  a  week;  no  more 
than  another  little  girl  who  had  been  marking  and 
sewing  tags  on  bathing  suits  for  two  months,  re- 
ceiving $5.00  a  week. 

In  the  group  earning  from  $6.00  to  $7.00  are 
found  such  extremes  as  a  woman  thirty-nine  years 
old  who  had  been  padding  men's  coats  for  fifteen 
years,  a  girl  fifteen  years  old  who  had  been  wrap- 
ping candies  for  seven  months,  another  woman 
twenty-six  years  old  finishing  women's  coats,  who 
had  come  from  Sicily  four  months  earlier,  and  a 
girl  of  fourteen  who,  in  her  three  months'  career 
as  a  wage-earner  had  tried  as  many  different  kinds 
of  work,  but  who  for  the  past  month  had  been 
filling  fruit  jars  at  $6.00  a  week.  In  the  group  of 
workers  making  $8.00  to  $9.00  are  found  women 
like  Maria  Petruno,  who  had  come  to  the  United 
States  only  three  months  previously  but  who  could 
10  139 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

make  $8.00  a  week  at  finishing  dresses  because  she 
had  learned  how  to  sew  in  Italy.  Mrs.  Lucca, 
aged  forty,  had  dipped  chocolates  for  eighteen 
years  but  received  only  $8.00  a  week,  no  more 
than  sixteen-year-old  Antoinette  Roselli,  who  had 
been  a  hand  dipper  for  only  two  years  but  who 
earned  the  same  wages. 

Even  among  those  paid  higher  wages  there 
seemed  to  be  a  similar  variation  in  years  of  expe- 
rience. Among  those  who  earned  $15  or  more 
were  found  such  women  as  Emma  Monica,  who 
had  been  an  operator  on  dresses  for  three  years 
and  who  made  |i6  a  week,  piece  work,  though 
only  eighteen;  and  Augusta  Lupinacci,  also  eigh- 
teen, who  learned  straw  sewing  in  a  trade  school 
and  was  earning  $15  a  week  after  three  years' 
experience.  After  sixteen  years  at  flower  making, 
Rose  Campobello  had  become  a  forewoman  at  $15 
a  week.  Mrs.  Delia  Chiesa,  for  nineteen  years  an 
operator  on  dresses,  earned  $18  in  a  full  week's 
work,  but  work  was  so  irregular  that  during  the 
year  she  had  earned  only  $500,  and  thus,  on  ac- 
count of  loss  from  part  time  and  lack  of  work  her 
average  for  the  weeks  in  which  she  reported  at  the 
shop  was  reduced  to  about  $13. 

Interviews  with  employers  showed  that  few 
firms  had  any  definite  system  of  advancing  work- 
ers as  they  became  more  skilled.  In  shops  where 
piece  work  prevailed,  the  workers  were  usually 
put  on  piece  rates  as  soon  as  they  understood  the 
process  and  their  earnings  increased  as  they  ac- 

140 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

quired  more  speed.  In  the  determination  of  piece 
rates  no  scientific  method  was  observed.  Few  had 
worked  out  even  trial  methods.  An  underwear 
manufacturer  explained  that  the  piece-work  rates 
for  the  300  women  workers  in  his  factory  had  been 
devised  by  the  forewoman  and  "had  stood  the 
test  of  time."  In  an  umbrella  factory,  the  rate 
for  tippers  was  determined  by  timing  three  girls 
making  up  a  new  model,  and  then  deciding  the 
price  at  a  conference.  Even  such  methods,  how- 
ever, are  unusual,  and  the  rate  is  usually  the  guess 
of  the  foreman  or  forewoman.  For  week  workers 
an  increase  was  usually  a  matter  of  chance,  and 
the  initiative  generally  had  to  be  taken  by  an 
employe.  A  petticoat  maker  in  a  shop  with  40 
other  girls  said  they  never  got  a  raise  without 
"picking,"  and  that  at  the  end  of  every  year  "the 
boss  expected  it." 

A  few  employers  had  realized  the  value  of  some 
better  system  in  order  to  keep  their  workers  and 
let  them  know  that  there  was  something  ahead. 
In  a  stationery  house  where  the  principal  work 
was  engraving,  learners  began  at  $4.00.  When 
they  understood  the  work  they  were  paid  $6.00. 
After  that  they  were  raised  $1.00  a  week  each 
year  until  they  reached  $8.00,  when  wages  were 
increased  on  the  basis  of  how  far  the  workers  ex- 
ceeded the  average  amount  allotted.  In  a  thread 
company,  girls  began  at  $4.00  and  were  advanced 
50  cents  every  six  months  until  they  received  $10. 


141 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

Other  factors,  it  is  evident,  in  addition  to  age, 
years  of  experience,  or  even  the  kind  of  work  done 
affect  rates  of  wages.  For  the  immigrant  it  may 
be  her  ignorance  of  the  English  language.  In  the 
particular  group  of  women  investigated,  however, 
those  who  could  not  speak  English  seemed  to  have 
fared  about  as  well  as  those  who  could,  if  we  may 
judge  by  their  wages.  Of  the  637  receiving  $7.00 
or  more,  168,  or  26  per  cent,  could  not  speak  Eng- 
lish, while  the  proportion  among  those  receiving 
less  than  $7.00  was  only  slightly  larger,  or  30  per 
cent.  Evidence  from  the  women  themselves  was 
no  more  conclusive.  On  the  one  hand  were  found 
women  like  Rose.  Canavaccio  who  could  speak 
only  Italian  but  could  earn  #14  a  week  as  a  sample 
maker  of  dresses  in  a  wholesale  house.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  strong  healthy  looking  girl  of  eigh- 
teen who  knew  no  English,  had  for  two  years 
been  sorting  new  rags  at  $5.00  a  week.  She  com- 
plained that  she  could  not  get  more  pay  as  she 
could  not  speak  English.  Grazia,  seventeen  years 
old,  although  in  this  country  only  three  months, 
was  glad  when  a  strike  was  declared  in  the  vest 
shop  where  she  was  sewing  on  buttons.  She  said 
that  she  was  being  taken  advantage  of  because 
she  could  not  speak  English  and  was  getting  only 
$4.00  a  week  for  work  at  which  other  girls  were 
getting  #9.00. 

Table  22  shows  that  the  length  of  time  the 
workers  had  been  in  this  country  made  a  material 
difference  in  the  wages  they  were  being  paid.     It 

142 


PAY    ENVELOPE 


indicates  both  the  low  wages  of  those  recently  ar- 
rived, and  the  rapid  rise  to  better  paid  work  after 
a  few  years'  residence. 


TABLE  22. — FULL  TIME  WEEKLY  EARNINGS  OF  ITAL- 
IAN WOMEN  WORKERS,  BY  YEARS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES 


Women  who  had  been  in  the  United  States 

Full  time 
weekly 

Less 

1 
year 

2 
years 

5 
years 

10 

All 

than 

and 

and 

and 

years 

Since 

women 

earnings 

1 

less 

less 

less 

or 

birth 

year 

than 
2 

than 
5 

than 
10 

more 

Less  than  $4 

4 

2 

5 

2 

'9 

32 

$4    and    less 

than  $5 

18 

2 

3 

10 

9 

60 

1 02 

$5    and    less 

than  $6     . 

30 

15 

8 

1 1 

13 

86 

.63 

S6    and    less 

than  $7 

17 

10 

17 

19 

21 

72 

.56 

$7    and    less 

than  $8      . 

5 

12 

16 

16 

21 

6s 

'35 

$8    and    less 

than  $9     . 

5 

8 

■3 

9 

16 

53 

104 

$9    and    less 

than  $10   . 

6 

7 

10 

18 

23 

47 

1 1 1 

$10  and   less 

than  $12    . 

3 

10 

12 

34 

33 

46 

138 

$12  and  less 

than  $15    . 

2 

5 

10 

'7 

34 

31 

99 

$15  or  more 

2 

3 

3 

9 

'7 

16 

50 

Total . 

92 

74 

92 

14S 

189 

495 

i.ogo11 

Median  earn- 

ings   . 

$5.80 

$7-67 

$8.15 

$9.22 

$9.54 

$7.16 

$7.68 

Average   age 

in  years     . 

20.5 

21.6 

24.6 

22.8 

24.1 

18.2 

20.9 

a  Of  the  1,095  women  investigated,  four  received 
addition  to  money  wages,  and  one  did  not  know  the 
a  new  position. 

143 


maintenance  in 
rate  of  wages  in 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

The  median  earnings  of  those  who  had  been  in 
this  country  less  than  a  year  were  only  $5.80,  al- 
most $2.00  less  than  the  median  for  those  who  had 
been  here  between  one  and  two  years.  For  those 
who  had  been  here  at  least  ten  years  the  median 
earnings  were  $9.54,  a  marked  increase  over  those 
who  had  been  here  less  than  a  year,  especially  as 
there  was  a  difference  of  only  three  and  a  half 
years  in  the  average  age  of  the  two  groups.  The 
most  serious  period  for  the  immigrant  appears  to 
be  the  first  year,  when  she  must  adjust  herself  to 
totally  new  surroundings.  A  prevailing  low  rate 
for  the  newly  arrived  immigrant  is  also  indicated 
by  the  experience  of  Italian  women  investigated  by 
the  International  Institute1  previously  referred  to. 
Of  those  employed,  64  per  cent  were  earning  less 
than  $6.00  and  91  per  cent  less  than  $8.00  a  week. 

In  fact  the  lower  average  for  those  born  in  this 
country  suggests  that  perhaps  the  immigrant, 
after  the  first  year  or  two  of  adjustment,  may 
become  a  formidable  rival  of  her  American  sister 
in  industry.  In  this  group  of  women,  the  median 
weekly  earnings  of  the  American  born  disclosed  a 
lower  median  than  that  of  any  group  except 
immigrants  who  had  just  come  from  Italy.  This 
difference  is  due  very  largely  to  the  fact  that 
these  American-born  girls  were  younger  than  the 
immigrants.  The  average  age  of  the  native-born 
woman  at  work  was  only  eighteen  years,  while 
that  of  immigrants  varied  from  twenty  and  a  half 

1  Sec  Appendix  A,  pp.  315-317. 
'44 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

for  those  here  less  than  one  year  to  nearly  twenty- 
five  for  those  who  had  been  here  from  two  to  five 
years. 

RATES  AND  ACTUAL  EARNINGS 

Other  things  being  equal,  two  workers  who  are 
being  paid  the  same  rate  of  wages  might  be  said 
to  be  equally  well  off.  But  when  the  subject  of 
discussion  is  industry,  the  assumption  that  other 
things  are  equal  is  usually  so  far  from  the  real 
truth  that  weekly  rates  of  wages  are  of  little  sig- 
nificance in  measuring  the  social  welfare  of  their 
recipients  unless  they  are  accompanied  by  such 
other  facts  as  regularity  of  employment,  overtime, 
and  part  time,  or  other  conditions  that  may  add  or 
subtract  from  the  nominal  amount  of  the  weekly 
rate  of  wages.  The  importance  of  this  distinction 
is  emphasized  in  Table  23  in  the  differences  that 
appear  between  the  full  time  weekly  wages  and 
the  actual  earnings  in  the  week  preceding  the  date 
of  interview,  of  the  1,095  Italian  women  investi- 
gated. 

Considering  all  the  workers  in  the  group,  we 
find  that  over  half  were  paid  at  a  rate  of  less  than 
$8.00  in  their  present  position  or  if  they  were  out 
of  work  at  time  of  investigation,  in  the  last  position 
they  had  held.  Only  12.2  per  cent  were  paid  at  a 
rate  of  less  than  $5.00  a  week,  and  yet  less  than 
this  amount  had  been  earned  by  32  per  cent  of 
those  who  had  been  at  work.  If  we  compare  the 
full  time  and  the  actual  earnings  of  the  better 
paid  women,  we  find  that  26  per  cent  were  paid 

•45 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

$10  or  more  for  a  full  week's  work,  but  that  only 
16  per  cent  had  earned  as  much  as  $10  during  the 


TABLE  23. — FULL  TIME  WEEKLY  WAGES  AND  ACTUAL 
EARNINGS  IN  WEEK  PRECEDING  INVESTIGATION, 
OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS 


Women  receiving  the  specified 

Wages  or  earnings 

Weekly  wages 

Actual  earnings 

Num- 

Per 

Num- 

Per 

ber 

cent 

ber 

cent 

None 

161 

14.9 

Less  than  $3    . 

5 

4 

32 

3.0 

$3  and  less  than  $4 

27 

2-5 

46 

4-3 

$4  and  less  than  $5 

102 

9-3 

107 

9.9 

S5  and  less  than  $6 

.63 

15.0 

'47 

13.6 

S6  and  less  than  $7 

.56 

'4-3 

.38 

12.8 

S7  and  less  than  $8 

135 

12.4 

117 

10.8 

58  and  less  than  $9 

104 

9-5 

82 

7.6 

$9  and  less  than  $10 

1 1  1 

10.2 

74 

6.8 

$10  and  less  than  $12    . 

138 

12.7 

9" 

8.4 

$12  and  less  than  $15    . 

99 

9.1 

59 

5-5 

$1  5  and  less  than  $20    . 

4' 

3.8 

24 

2.2 

$20  or  more     .... 

9 

.8 

2 

.2 

Total 

1 ,090a 

100.0 

1  ,o8ob 

100.0 

Median 

$7- 

68 

$6 

34 

a  Of  the  1,095  women  investigated,  four  received  maintenance  in 
addition  to  money  wages,  and  one  did  not  know  the  rate  of  wages  in 
a  new  position. 

^Of  the  1,095  women  investigated,  15  did  not  state  actual  earn- 
ings or  were  doing  home  work  only,  or  maintenance  was  part  of  wages. 

one  week  selected.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
the  actual  earnings  in  one  week  not  only  exclude 
deductions  for  loss  of  time  for  any  cause  but  include 
additional  earnings  from  home  work  or  overtime. 
I  he  difference  between  the  median  full-time  wages 

146 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

of  $7.68  for  the  whole  group  and  the  median  actual 
earnings  of  $6.92  for  the  week  prior  to  investigation 
shows  that  the  loss  of  earnings  for  part  time  and 
other  causes  was  not  made  up  by  additional  earn- 
ings from  overtime  and  home  work. 

YEARLY  INCOME 

It  is  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  collect 
data  concerning  weekly  or  even  hourly  rates  of 
wages,  but  as  soon  as  any  attempt  is  made  to 
secure  accurate  information  or  even  approximate 
estimates  of  the  actual  yearly  income  of  a  given 
wage-earner,  difficulties  are  immediately  encoun- 
tered. If  such  information  is  sought  from  an  em- 
ployer's payroll,  the  investigation  must  necessarily 
be  limited  to  workers  who  have  been  with  the 
same  firm  throughout  a  year.  If  this  information 
is  sought  from  the  workers,  we  face  the  fact  that 
very  few  have  kept  account  of  their  yearly  earn- 
ings. Especially  is  this  the  case  if  they  have  had 
to  change  positions  frequently,  or  if  they  are  piece 
workers  or  have  been  employed  on  part  time. 
Yet  it  is  the  earnings  of  those  who  face  these 
three  problems — an  overwhelming  proportion  of 
workers  as  industry  is  organized  at  present — about 
which  it  is  most  essential  to  secure  reliable  facts. 

In  this  investigation  an  attempt  was  made  to 
secure  an  estimate  of  the  year's  income  for  each 
woman  who  had  at  least  nominally  been  a  wage- 
earner  during  the  past  full  year.  It  could  be  de- 
rived only  after  an  accurate  account  of  the  woman's 

147 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

work  for  the  year  had  been  secured.  This  in- 
cluded the  time  spent  in  each  position,  earnings 
not  only  from  the  daily  work  but  from  overtime 
and  home  work,  losses  due  to  part  time,  slack 
season,  absence  or  deductions  for  fines  or  supplies. 
At  best,  the  figure  representing  the  year's  income 
can  be  but  an  estimate.  This  was  impossible  to 
secure  for  more  than  675  of  the  859  women  who 
were  wage-earners  during  the  entire  year.1 

A  comparison  of  the  year's  income  reduced  to  a 
weekly  basis  with  the  full  time  weekly  wages  at 
which  they  were  employed  in  their  shops  is  made 
in  Table  24.  It  points  to  the  marked  effect  of 
loss  of  time,  whatever  its  cause,  upon  a  worker's 
earnings. 

The  most  significant  fact  is  the  gap  between  the 
actual  weekly  wages  and  the  average  when  the 
year's  income  was  distributed  for  spending  through 
the  fifty-two  weeks  of  the  year.  Only  162,  or  a 
fourth,  could  claim  actual  earnings  of  $8.00  or 
more  throughout  the  year,  although  over  half  of 
them  had  been  paid  a  nominal  rate  of  $8.00  or 
more  a  week  in  their  last  position.  In  fact  330, 
or  nearly  one  out  of  every  two,  had  less  than  an 
average  of  $6.00  a  week  to  live  on,  although  only 
one  in  five  had  been  paid  at  so  low  a  rate  in  her 
last  position.     Moreover,  this  difference  in  aver- 

'  As  the  amount  of  the  year's  income  was  talked  over  with  the 
women  themselves,  and  as  many  of  them  were  interviewed  more 
than  once,  thus  affording  an  opportunity  for  checking  previous  in- 
formation, the  results  are  fairly  accurate.  The  number  also  includes 
X2  women  and  girls  whose  careers  were  followed  up  by  an  investigator 
from  month  to  month  for  a  year. 

148 


PAY    ENVELOPE 


O 

z 

5 

D 

Q 

o 

Z 

z 

< 
uu 

>- 

UJ 

ui 

UJ 

O 
< 
od, 
uj 
> 
< 

D 
Z 

< 

in 

UJ 

O 
< 

>« 
J 

s: 

UJ 
UJ 

UJ 


UJ 

O 

z 

UJ 

o 

z 

< 

< 

H 

u. 
O 

04 

< 

UJ 

>• 
UJ 
X 
H 


r» 

UJ 

-j 
< 


5  E 


-5i 


2  P  <«  rt  _ 


oo  <s  «->vo  r-~vo  o  »n  o 


o-a  $  £  « 


^  ^ii-5^ 


y  K  rt  <^ 

•5  JU  J=fe«= 


-    TtGO    -    "^ 

—  N 

■  00    i^u^  N- 
—    N 


VO 


I  ^  -c^= 


3.S& 


n-\  —    "^  —   tJ-  rr>  M      •   — 


j$   cS 


O   —    — 

•  u-sVO    t^QO    C^  —  ^t£fc 

CCCCCCrtrt 

*  c^  el  rt  ^  rt  rt  -C  _c 

.CCE-CCC-'-'*-' 

_  «  «  «  w  «  «i«^  •;  o 

C   aj    u   u   a;    u   u  c 

c3  ■ ' —  ' —  ' T3T3   c 

-5  -a  -o  -a  -a  -o  -a  c  c  »- 

~CCCCCCrtrtO 

<u  tt  irsvo  r^oo  0\—  —  •- 


<u 

— J 

E 

5 

•~ 

0) 

J= 

3 

c/» 

0 

c 

a 

<u 

-u 

5-= 


O.E 


149 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

age  earnings  is  apparent  in  each  of  the  wage  groups 
whether  we  refer  to  those  who  were  paid  rates  of 
$5.00  or  $6.00,  or  those  paid  $12  or  $15.  While 
191  had  stated  full  time  weekly  wages  of  $10  or 
more,  only  57  had  actually  had  $10  or  more  a 
week  throughout  the  year.  The  others  had  been 
forced  to  live  on  $8.00  or  $9.00  or  even  less.  A 
comparison  on  the  basis  of  average  weekly  rates 
with  average  earnings  for  the  whole  group  shows 
a  similar  difference.  For  instance,  the  average 
weekly  rate  of  wages  of  those  in  the  group  who 
were  being  paid  $6.00  but  less  than  $7.00  was 
§56.09,  as  compared  with  an  average  weekly  income 
through  the  year  of  $5.18  for  the  same  group. 
Such  a  difference  suggests  that  perhaps  those  in- 
dustries or  occupations  which  offer  nominally 
higher  weekly  rates  may  at  the  same  time  be  those 
in  which  workers  may  expect  to  meet  with  greater 
irregularity  and  fewer  days  of  work  in  the  course 
of  a  year.  Table  25  shows  the  same  inadequacy 
of  actual  earnings  in  terms  of  total  yearly  income. 

In  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  total  yearly 
income  was  less  than  $400  for  more  than  half  of 
these  675  women,  while  74,  or  about  1 1  per  cent, 
had  actually  earned  less  than  $200,  an  average  of 
less  than  $4.00  a  week.  Of  this  latter  class  nearly  a 
third  were  women  who  had  passed  their  eighteenth 
birthday.  On  the  other  hand,  62,  or  over  two- 
thirds  of  those  who  had  earned  $500  or  more,  were 
at  least  twenty-one  years  old. 

II  we  eliminate  the  youngest  girls  and  consider 
150 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

only  the  473  women  who  were  eighteen  years  of 
age  or  older,  we  find  that  28  per  cent  had  earned 

TABLE  25. — INCOME  FOR  YEAR  PRECEDING  INVESTI- 
GATION OF    ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS,   BY  AGE 


Women  who  were 

16 

18 

21 

25 

Income  for  year 

Less 
than 

years 
and 

years 
and 

years 
and 

years 
and 

35 

years 

All 
women 

16 

less 

less 

less 

less 

or 

years 

than 
18 

than 
21 

than 
25 

than 
35 

more 

Less  than  $200 

15 

35 

12 

5 

4 

3 

74 

$200   and    less 

than 

$300 

1 1 

81 

64 

24 

10 

12 

202 

$300   and    less 

than 

$400 

2 

40 

87 

38 

'7 

12 

196 

$400   and    less 

than 

$500 

15 

50 

33 

8 

6 

1 12 

$500   and    less 

than 

$600 

3 

18 

22 

9 

4 

56 

$600   and    less 

than 

$700 

6 

6 

5 

4 

21 

$700  or  more 

2 

7 

4 

1 

'4 

Total 

28 

'74 

239 

135 

57 

42 

675a 

a  Of  the  1,095  women  investigated,  236  had  not  been  wage-earners 
during  the  entire  preceding  year,  and  184  did  not  report  the  year's 
income. 

less  than  $300,  and  53  per  cent  between  $300  and 
$500,  while  only  7  per  cent  had  earned  $600  or 
more.  When  we  consider  that  $9.00*  a  week,  or 
$468  a  year,  was  estimated  before  the  cost  of  living 
was  as  high  as  at  present,  as  the  minimum  amount 
on  which  a  girl  eighteen  or  older  could  support  her- 
self, it  is  evident  that  more  than  four  out  of  every 

1  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission.  Fourth  Re- 
port, 1915.     Vol.  IV,  p.  1,609. 

'51 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

five  of  these  Italian  women  must  either  have  made 
up  the  deficit  in  their  earnings  from  those  of 
others  or  have  fallen  below  even  the  minimum 
standard  allowed  by  such  an  income. 

The  year's  income  included  earnings  from  all 
occupations  at  which  the  workers  had  been  em- 
ployed during  the  year,  varying  all  the  way  from 
the  income  of  the  woman  who  had  worked  in  the 
same  place  at  the  same  work  for  fifty-two  weeks 
in  the  year  or  the  one  who  had  lost  twenty-two 
weeks  while  nominally  in  one  position,,  to  the  wo- 
man who  had  held  five  positions  in  the  past  year 
as  operator  on  waists  and  negligees  or  the  girl  of 
seventeen  who  had  held  six  positions  in  four  dif- 
ferent trades  and  had  earned  $131  in  her  thirty- 
seven  weeks'  work  during  the  year. 

Not  only  do  workers  shift  from  one  industry 
to  another,  but  even  if  they  remain  in  the  same 
industry  many  must  change  their  positions  during 
the  twelve  months  to  eke  out  their  income.  Table 
26  shows  the  number  of  different  occupations  and 
positions  in  which  the  women  had  been  employed 
during  the  year  in  order  to  obtain  their  income. 

During  the  year,  77  per  cent,  as  shown  in  Table 
26,  had  been  employed  in  only  one  industry,  while 
65  per  cent  had  held  but  one  position.  Conse- 
quently these  figures  indicate  that  nearly  a  quarter 
of  the  women  had  worked  in  two  or  more  indus- 
tries, and  over  a  third  in  at  least  two  different 
positions.  The  results  are  more  significant  if  the 
distribution    in    the    different    income   groups    is 

152 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

considered.     Among  those  who  earned  less  than 
$200,  more  than  half  had  been  in  two  or  more  in- 

TABLE  26. — INCOME  FOR  YEAR  PRECEDING  INVESTI- 
GATION OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS,  BY  NUM- 
BER OF  INDUSTRIES  AND  POSITIONS  EMPLOYED 
IN  DURING  THE  YEAR 


W 

amen  e 

mployed  during  the  year 

in 

Three 

Income  for  year 

One 
in- 
dus- 

Two 

in- 
dus- 

or 
more 

Total 

One 
posi- 

Two 
posi- 

Three 
posi- 

Four 

or 
more 

Total 

try 

tries 

dus- 
tries 

tion 

tions 

tions 

posi- 
tions 

Less  than  $200 

34 

25 

15 

74 

23 

25 

IS 

11 

74 

$200  and   less  than 

$300 

131 

S2 

18 

201 

106 

SO 

28 

IS 

199 

$300  and   less   than 

$400 

169 

26 

1 

196 

147 

37 

10 

2 

196 

S400  and  less  than 

$500 

102 

9 

1 

112 

92 

9 

8 

3 

112 

2500  and   less  than 

$600 

51 

S 

S6 

41 

11 

3 

1 

S6 

$600  and   less   than 

S700 

18 

3 

21 

16 

4 

1 

21 

S700  or  more 

13 

1 

14 

11 

1 

2 

14 

Total 

5i3 

121 

35 

674a 

436 

137 

65 

34 

672" 

»  Of  the  1.09s  women  investigated,  236  had  not  been  wage-earners  during 
the  entire  preceding  year,  184  did  not  report  the  year's  income,  one  did  not 
state  number  of  industries,  and  three  did  not  state  number  of  positions  in  which 
they  had  been  employed  during  the  year. 

dustries,  while  among  the  91  who  had  earned  $500 
or  more,  only  nine  had  been  in  more  than  one  in- 
dustry. The  same  is  true  in  regard  to  the  number 
of  positions  they  have  held.  It  indicates  that 
shifting  from  one  industry  or  position  to  another, 
whatever  its  cause,  results  in  a  lower  yearly  in- 
come. This  suggests  two  possibilities — that  the 
low  income  is  due  either  to  loss  of  time  between 
positions  or  to  the  lower  earning  capacity  of  those 
who  have  had  to  shift. 

'53 


ITALIAN  WOMEN   IN  INDUSTRY 

Some  light  may  be  thrown  on  these  questions 
by  comparing  the  incomes  of  the  women  in  dif- 
ferent occupations.  While  their  total  incomes 
in  many  cases  were  not  derived  from  a  single  in- 
dustry, as  Table  26  indicates,  nevertheless  there 
was  usually  one  which  had  been  the  principal 
source  of  income.  In  Table  27  is  presented  the 
last  industry  in  which  the  women  whose  yearly 
income  could  be  estimated  were  employed. 


TABLE  27. — INCOME  FOR  YEAR  PRECEDING  INVESTI- 
GATION OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS,  BY  OCCU- 
PATION 


Women  whc 

se  income  for  the  year 

was 

S200 

S300 

$400 

S500 

Ml 

Occupation 

Less 

and 

and 

and 

and 

$600 

than 

less 

less 

less 

less 

or 

$200 

than 

than 

than 

than 

more 

$300 

$400 

$500 

I600 

Manufacturing 

Flowers  and  feathers 

11 

30 

34 

23 

12 

6 

116 

Men's      and      boys' 

clothing   . 

6 

16 

17 

9 

1 

40 

Women's    and     chil- 

dren's clothing 

24 

65 

51 

32 

22 

14 

208 

Paper  goods 

4 

IS 

19 

7 

1 

46 

Tobacco,  candy,  and 

foodstuffs 

7 

27 

27 

7 

1 

69 

Headwear    . 

2 

6 

2 

5 

s 

4 

24 

Textiles   and    miscel- 

laneous sewed  ma- 

terials 

1 1 

21 

21 

1 1 

10 

3 

77 

Rubber,      fur,      and 

leather  goods 

1 

0 

6 

4 

1 

21 

Miscellaneous    goods 

and  laundering 

3 

5 

9 

2 

19 

Total    .... 

69 

194 

186 

100 

51 

29 

629 

All  other  occupations 

5 

8 

10 

13 

4 

6 

46 

('.rand  total 

74 

202 

iq6 

113 

55 

35 

675» 

» ( )i  the  1,005  women 
the  cm  in-  phi  c(iing  year, 


investigated,  236  had  not  been  wage-earners 
and  1 K }  did  not  report  the  scat's  income. 


during 


'54 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

In  eight  of  the  nine  main  groups  of  manufactur- 
ing industries,  the  location  of  the  median  was  in 
the  $300  and  less  than  $400  group,  the  exceptional 
industry  being  headwear.  Even  in  the  making  of 
women's  clothing,  in  which  a  comparatively  high 
weekly  rate  prevailed,  half  of  the  women  had 
earned  less  than  $400.  While  there  were  marked 
differences  in  the  rates  of  wages  paid  to  women  in 
the  various  industries,  the  yearly  income  shows  no 
such  striking  diversity  from  industry  to  industry. 

FINES 

Other  factors  besides  the  seasonal  character  of 
the  work  which  most  of  these  women  did,  caused 
reductions  in  the  year's  income.  Small  sums  were 
often  deducted  from  the  week's  wages  as  fines  for 
lateness  and  other  causes.  One  girl,  who  was  paid 
$5.00  a  week,  was  fined  for  an  hour  if  she  was  late 
five  minutes.  A  bookbinder  complained  that  she 
was  fined  for  double  time  if  late,  while  she  was 
paid  only  time  and  a  half  when  working  overtime. 

The  policy  of  fines  varied  from  shop  to  shop. 
Some  women  had  never  been  subject  to  the  system, 
while  others  had  seldom  been  able  to  make  a  full 
week's  wages  because  of  them.  Sometimes  women 
were  fined  for  coming  late  five  minutes,  when  their 
weekly  hours  were  in  violation  of  the  factory  law. 
In  other  cases,  women  who  were  required  to  work 
overtime  or  to  take  work  home  were  fined  if  they 
appeared  late  the  following  morning.  A  packer  of 
flowers  was  not  paid  for  the  Saturday  half  holidays 

155 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

in  summer,  but  she  rarely  could  leave  before  one 
o'clock,  once  working  until  three  o'clock  without 
additional  pay.  On  the  other  days  she  could  sel- 
dom leave  her  shop  until  6:15  p.m.,  but  was  not 
paid  for  overtime  unless  she  stayed  until  8:30, 
when  she  would  receive  half  a  day's  pay.  She 
was  then  allowed  to  stay  out  until  8:30  instead 
of  eight  o'clock  the  following  morning,  but  if  she 
appeared  after  8:30  she  was  fined  a  quarter  of  a 
day's  pay.  In  many  cases  the  girls  complained 
that  they  were  late  through  no  fault  of  their  own ; 
the  elevators  were  out  of  order,  or  were  extremely 
slow;  or  there  would  be  so  great  a  crowd  around 
the  time  clock  at  the  final  minute  that  the  last 
comers  would  be  marked  late  when  their  turn 
came  to  ring  up. 

While  fines  are  supposed  to  have  a  disciplinary 
value,  it  is  doubtful  whether  practically  they  have 
the  desired  effect.  The  girl  whose  earnings  are  not 
of  vital  importance  cares  little  if  she  loses  5  or 
10  cents  when  she  is  late,  while  the  girl  whose 
job  means  a  great  deal  to  both  her  parents  and 
herself  will  be  in  her  place  on  time.  Employers 
justified  their  system  of  fining  on  the  ground  that 
workers  coming  in  late  disorganized  the  workroom, 
wasted  machine  power,  and  handicapped  other 
workers.  Others,  however,  had  found  that  fines 
did  not  bring  such  good  results  as  other  methods, 
such  as  scolding  or  admitting  no  one  to  the  work- 
room after  a  certain  period  of  grace.  One  concern 
had    an   elaborate   system   of  fines   for   its    1,300 

.56 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

women,  the  money  collected  being  distributed  to 
workers  with  the  best  annual  record.  The  fact 
that  in  one  year  $1,400  was  thus  distributed  sug- 
gests that  the  system  had  not  been  effective  in 
preventing  tardiness.  In  this  same  firm,  although 
workers  were  fined  5  cents  if  late  five  minutes, 
even  though  piece  workers,  they  were  frequently 
kept  waiting  for  work.  One  employer,  when  asked 
if  he  fined  for  lateness  exclaimed,  "What  do  1 
want  with  their  money?" 

Instead  of  being  fined,  workers  should  be  taught 
responsibility  for  the  loss  of  machines  standing 
idle  and  for  the  disorganization  caused  by  late 
comers.  Employers  who  had  tried  this  means  had 
found  it  more  effective  than  fines,  especially  if  they 
coupled  with  this  method  the  idea  that  workers 
who  were  habitually  late  were  undesirable  and 
would  be  the  first  to  be  laid  off  if  a  reduction  in 
the  force  occurred.  Probably  other  measures 
could  be  used  which  would  not  only  be  more  effec- 
tive in  accomplishing  the  desired  result,  but  less 
irritating  to  both  employer  and  employe.  Aboli- 
tion of  fines  is  a  forward  step,  and  is  the  policy 
of  those  employers  who  are  inaugurating  more  pro- 
gressive ideas  into  their  business  management. 

CHARGES  FOR  SUPPLIES 

Not  only  are  actual  wages  diminished  by  fines 
but  deductions  are  made  in  the  form  of  charges  for 
supplies.  There  seems  no  basis  of  justification  for 
deducting  35  cents  a  week  from  the  pay  envelope 

'57 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

of  an  underwear  operator  for  electric  power,  nor 
for  charging  her  3  cents  for  every  two  needles 
that  she  uses  on  her  machine.  And  yet  practices 
like  these  are  not  unusual.  A  corset  operator  who 
made  about  $5.50  a  week  at  piece  work  had  to  pay 
30  cents  a  spool  for  thread,  and  she  used  one  or 
two  spools  a  week.  A  milliner  had  to  furnish  her 
own  scissors  and  needles.  Girls  employed  at  any 
sort  of  hand  sewing  always  had  to  supply  their 
own  thimbles,  tape  measures,  and  scissors,  and  to 
bear  the  expense  of  having  these  sharpened.  The 
same  was  true  of  machine  operators. 

In  some  occupations  the  women  had  to  supply 
all  their  own  tools.  For  instance,  a  finisher  in  a 
paper-box  factory  had  to  supply  her  own  awl,  a 
hand  folder  her  own  bone  folder,  and  a  cigarette 
maker  her  own  board  for  wrapping  and  a  knife 
which  cost  $1.25.  A  ribboneron  underwear  bought 
her  own  bodkin,  and  fancy  feather  makers,  their 
nippers.  An  ostrich  feather  maker  reported  that 
she  had  to  supply  scissors,  thimble,  needles,  and 
paring  knife.  The  knife  cost  50  cents  and  she  had 
to  pay  5  cents  each  week  to  have  it  sharpened. 
Needles  at  25  cents  a  package  lasted  a  month.  In 
other  cases,  girls  had  to  pay  if  they  broke  some 
part  of  a  machine.  One  girl  who  earned  about 
$7.00  a  week  at  making  padding  for  coats  by  ma- 
chine had  to  pay  $1.50  for  breaking  a  part  of  it. 

While  the  charges  in  themselves  often  appeared 
trivial,  there  seemed  no  reason  why  they  should  be 
made  at  all.    They  should  be  considered  as  part 

.58 


PAY    ENVELOPE 

of  the  cost  of  production;  but  5  cents  a  week  for 
needles  might  be  better  spent  by  the  girl  who 
earned  $6.00  a  week.  The  practice,  based  on  the 
argument  that  workers  are  less  wasteful  of  supplies 
which  they  must  buy  themselves,  works  harm  to 
the  great  majority  who  are  not  naturally  waste- 
ful. While  the  amount  is  small,  it  is  irksome  and 
irritating  to  have  to  pay  it,  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  few  cents  that  are  saved  to  the  em- 
ployer by  such  methods  are  worth  the  antagonism 
created. 

A  charge  for  spoiled  goods  is  often  made.  An 
operator  on  an  embroidery  machine  was  charged 
the  full  price  of  the  scarf  if  oil  from  the  machine 
got  onto  the  material.  "They  ought  to  charge  the 
net  price,  not  the  list.  And  anyway,  the  first  time 
the  scarf  is  washed  the  oil  comes  out."  An  operator 
stitching  bands  on  corsets  was  charged  10  cents  a 
cut.  A  young  girl  who  trimmed  the  threads  off  of 
neckwear  at  $4.00  a  week  had  to  pay  for  the  collar 
if  she  made  a  cut  which  could  not  be  mended.  An 
operator  on  kid  gloves  had  to  pay  the  cost  of  the 
gloves  if  the  machine  sewed  the  seams  crooked. 
One  week  she  spoiled  two  pairs  and  had  to  pay 
$2.50  a  pair.  "It  took  nearly  the  whole  week's 
pay."  In  a  shirtwaist  house,  if  a  waist  was  lost 
the  price  was  divided  among  the  stock  girls  in  the 
department  where  the  loss  occurred.  A  salesgirl 
in  a  department  store  was  fined  5  cents  for  every 
mistake.  She  thought  the  scheme  "mean,"  as  it 
did  not  correct  the  error.    Customers  were  always 

•59 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

calling  to  her  to  hurry  and  she  had  four  counters 
on  which  to  wait.  "  If  they  can't  make  money  off 
the  customers,  they  try  to  make  it  up  on  the  em- 
ployes." Incidentally  she  was  also  fined  a  cent  a 
minute  if  late,  but  for  two  weeks  before  Christmas 
she  had  worked  every  night  until  10:30  without 
pay.  Nor  had  she  been  given  any  time  off  in 
return.  When  asked  if  girls  did  not  object,  she 
replied  that  the  "boss"  would  say,  "If  you  don't 
like  it,  you  know  what  you  can  do." 

rThis  statement  indicates  why  workers  submitted 
to  such  fines  and  charges.  Especially  is  this  true 
in  unorganized  trades.  It  is  an  interesting  fact 
that  one  of  the  first  results  of  organization  is  the 
elimination  of  charges  for  supplies  and  unjust  fines. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  remedy  the  evils  which  are 
supposed  to  justify  such  practices  on  the  part  of 
employers,  the  trade  union  attempts  to  impress 
on  its  workers  higher  standards  of  relationships 
1  with  their  employers  and  greater  honesty  with  one 
another. 


\(HJ 


CHAPTER  VIII 

UPS  AND  DOWNS  OF  THE  FAMILY 
BUDGET 

IN  trying  to  make  both  ends  of  the  family  bud- 
get meet,  the  fact  of  prime  importance  to  the 
housewife  is  the  regularity  of  her  weekly  allow- 
ance for  household  expenses.  Weeks  of  compara- 
tive plenty  do  not  compensate  for  weeks  of  dearth, 
especially  when  the  bottom  falls  out  of  the  pay 
envelope  without  warning.  In  order  to  maintain 
a -decent  standard  there  must  be  a  certain  regular 
minimum  which  can  be  depended  upon  week  after 
week.  A  realization  of  the  importance  of  this  fac- 
tor— regularity  of  income — in  the  lives  of  workers' 
families  led  to  the  rounding  out  of  the  investiga- 
tion of  Italian  women  wage-earners  by  an  inten- 
sive study  of  yearly  income  in  a  small  group  of 
the  families  included  in  the  larger  investigation. 

SCOPE  AND  METHOD 

The  48  families  selected  for  this  purpose  lived 
in  the  lower  west  side  Italian  colony  already  des- 
cribed. For  the  purpose  of  securing  the  detailed 
and  accurate  information  regarding  annual  income 
and  regularity  of  employment  which  it  is  impos- 
sible to  obtain  in  a  single  interview  or,  under  ordi- 

161 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

nary  circumstances,  for  very  large  groups,  monthly 
visits  over  the  period  of  a  year1  were  made  to  the 
homes  of  each  of  the  48  families  by  an  investigator 
who  was  able,  through  her  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  neighborhood  and  her  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  many  of  the  families  living  in  that  dis- 
trict, to  enlist  a  degree  of  interest  and  co-operation 
that  would  have  been  impossible  for  an  outsider.2 
At  each  monthly  visit  a  record  was  made  of  the 
four  preceding  weeks  of  the  family  income,  in- 
cluding the  earnings  of  each  breadwinner  and  any 
money  received  through  other  sources.3  At  the 
end  of  the  year  12  cards  containing  this  informa- 
tion were  on  file  for  each  family,  making  a  com- 
plete record  of  the  year's  income.  In  this  way  the 
danger  of  relying  too  greatly  on  memory  was 
obviated.  Similarly,  in  securing  the  data  on  ex- 
penditures necessary  to  gauge  the  adequacy  of  the 
income,  a  record3  was  taken  at  each  visit  of  the 
money  spent  in  the  week  previous.  Thus  an  item- 
ized budget  was  secured  for  twelve  typical  weeks 
scattered  at  regular  intervals  through  the  year. 
With  this  basis  of  fact,  an  estimate  could  be  made 
of  the  total  year's  expenses,  making  due  allow- 
ance for  items  which  were  not  likely  to  recur  in 
each  of  the  fifty-two  weeks  of  the  year. 

1  The  field  work  extended  through  the  calendar  year  1912,  and  a 
few  visits  were  also  made  in  the  beginning  of  i<)i  }. 

-  Miss  Elisabeth  Roemer,  who  undertook  this  study,  had  been  for 
ten  years  .1  resident  and  worker  in  Richmond  Hill  House,  a  settle- 
ment on  Macdougal  Street,  in  the  heart  of  the  lower  wesl  side  Italian 
colony. 

'See  Appendix  B,  pp.  ;2.\    $2(>,  For  reproduction  of  record  cards. 
162 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

The  greatest  difficulties  of  the  investigation  were 
encountered  in  attempting  to  have  these  expense 
accounts  kept.  Ten  of  the  families  kept  an  actual 
account  of  expenditures,  but  in  the  others  the 
mother  of  the  family,  who  was  also  the  dispenser 
of  the  budget,  was  illiterate  or  could  not  read  or 
write  English,  while  the  other  members  of  the 
family  were  too  tired  at  night  or  too  indifferent 
to  undertake  the  task.  The  attitude  of  many  of 
them  may  be  summed  up  in  the  words  of  one  frank 
father:  "  Me  won't  bother.  Me  buy  when  me  have 
money.  When  no  more  money,  me  take  out  trust 
at  grocery  man."  By  going  carefully  over  the 
various  items  of  the  week's  expenditures  at  each 
visit,  however,  while  the  memory  was  still  fresh 
a  sufficiently  accurate  account  was  secured  for  the 
purposes  of  the  investigation.  In  addition  to  the 
data  on  income  and  outlay,  information  similar  to 
that  secured  in  the  larger  investigation  regarding 
living  conditions  and  work  histories  was  obtained. 
Another  and  a  very  rich  source  of  information,  es- 
pecially regarding  characteristics  and  standards  of 
home  life,  was  the  long  acquaintance  of  the  inves- 
tigator with  many  of  the  families.  They  were  not 
selected,  however,  because  of  any  preconceived 
notion  of  what  facts  they  would  illustrate,  but 
were  chosen  at  random  without  reference  to  the 
size  or  regularity  of  their  income  from  among  those 
Italian  families  in  the  neighborhood  which  num- 
bered at  least  one  woman  wage-earner  among  their 
members. 

163 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

In  dealing  with  so  small  a  group  of  cases  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  generalizations  can  be 
drawn  or  theories  established.  The  value  of  an 
intensive  study  of  a  small  group  of  cases  does  not 
lie  in  the  statistical  data  secured,  but  rather  in 
the  insight  obtained  into  the  problems  of  individual 
families,  and  especially  in  this  instance  into  the  diffi- 
culties of  their  adaptation  to  unfamiliar  conditions 
and  into  the  uncertainties  of  their  existence  from 
week  to  week,  month  to  month,  and  year  to  year. 

COMPOSITION  AND  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  FAMILY 
GROUPS 

Though  only  48  families  were  included  in  the 
study,  this  group  comprised  as  many  as  328  per- 
sons, an  average  of  nearly  seven  (6.8)  members 
to  a  family.  The  smallest  had  four  members  and 
the  largest  1  3.  Only  a  -third  of  the  families  had 
less  than  six  members,  while  another  third  had 
eight  or  more.  As  many  as  six  had  more  than  10 
members.  It  is  evident  that  these  are  not  the 
"  normal "  families  of  the  sociological  budget  maker, 
but  a  random  group,  many  of  them  showing  the 
typical  Italian  characteristic  of  large  numbers. 

In  39  families  the  father  was  living,  but  two  of 
these  had  returned  to  Italy  on  account  of  illness 
and  one  had  deserted,  so  that  in  12  families  the 
mother  was  the  head  of  the  household.  In  only 
two  was  the  mother  dead.  There  were  102  chil- 
dren under  fourteen,  and  of  the  remaining  144 
members,  90  were  daughters  and  51  sons  of  four- 

16 1 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

teen  years  or  more;  two  were  the  mothers  and  one 
the  grandfather  of  the  head  of  the  family. 

It  has  been  claimed  by  some  Italian  sociologists 
that  one  of  the  important  causes  for  emigration 
from  the  mother  country  is  the  great  fecundity  of 
the  Italian  people,  which  will  continually  cause 
the  population  to  increase  too  rapidly  for  the 
material  resources  of  the  country.  In  this  group 
of  48  families  only  seven  of  the  43  mothers  report- 
ing had  had  less  than  five  children,  while  14,  or 
about  a  third,  had  had  10  or  more;  four  of  these 
mothers  had  had  10  children  each;  four  11  each, 
two  14  each,  and  two  15  each.  One  mother  of  1 1 
children  confided  to  the  investigator  that  the  mid- 
wife who  had  helped  her  on  these  numerous  occa- 
sions gave  her  a  special  rate  because  of  the  fre- 
quent call  for  her  services.  Most  of  the  house- 
holds had  been  reduced  from  their  original  size, 
however,  by  early  deaths  or  early  marriages  until 
at  the  time  of  the  visit  the  greatest  number  of 
children  in  any  one  of  them  was  1 1. 

These  families  were  not  of  the  shifting,  floating 
population  which  spends  a  few  years  here  gather- 
ing in  what  little  wealth  it  can,  sacrificing  present 
comfort  to  future  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  its 
labors  in  its  native  land.  They  represented  rather 
the  wage-earning  Italians  who  are  permanent  resi- 
dents. The  men  had  transplanted  their  families 
with  them,  and  many  of  their  children  had  been 
born  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Most  of  them 
had  come  from  Italy  in  the  earlier  days  of  emigra- 

.65 


\* 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

tion  from  that  country  and  had  long  been  residents 
of  the  section  of  the  city  where  they  were  then 
living.  One  of  the  mothers  who  had  been  born  in 
the  neighborhood  forty-eight  years  before  talked  of 
the  days  when  "this  district  used  to  be  swell"  and 
she  had  worked  out  at  service  in  one  of  the  old  New 
York  families.  None  of  the  Italian  families  investi- 
gated had  been  in  this  country  less  than  five  years, 
only  two  less  than  ten,  while  46  had  arrived  ten  to 
twenty  years  before,  more  than  half  of  them  in 
the  first  big  wave  of  Italian  immigration. 

The  heads  of  28  of  the  families  hailed  from  north- 
I  ern  Italy,  while  17  came  from  the  southern  prov- 
inces and  three  from  Sicily.  The  usual  prejudice 
of  the  northern  Italian  against  the  southern  and 
the  southern  Italian  against  the  Sicilian  was  in 
evidence  among  them.  One  Genoese  mother  was 
heartbroken  because  her  son  was  "keeping  com- 
pany" with  a  Neapolitan  girl,  while  the  fact  that 
Sicilians  had  moved  into  the  tenement  where  he 
;  lived  actually  embittered  the  life  of  a  man  born 
vu^i  Naples. 

The  causes  of  their  coming  to  the  United  States 
had  been  for  the  most  part  economic.  Either 
they  had  never  risen  far  above  the  poverty  line  in 
Italy  or  success  which  had  once  attended  their 
efforts  had  turned  to  failure,  and  both  classes  in 
despair  had  turned  to  America  as  their  savior. 
Whether  their  dreams  had  come  true  or  not  is 
revealed  in  a  study  of  their  income  and  what  it 


brought  them. 


166 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

Despite  the  fact  that  they  had  been  so  long  » 
resident  in  the  United  States,  the  process  of  Amer- 
icanization, especially  for  the  older  generation, 
had  proceeded  slowly.  Much  of  the  small  town 
spirit  still  clung  to  them  and  made  this  colony 
like  a  village  set  in  the  midst  of  a  great  city.  They 
all  knew  one  another,  gossiped  about  each  other, 
clung  to  the  customs,  the  language,  and  the  sec- 
tional prejudices  they  had  brought  with  them  from 
Italy,  and  they  perpetuated  their  strong  racial 
feeling  by  intermarriage.  In  these  48  families,  17 
of  the  46  mothers  who  were  living  at  the  time  of 
the  study  and  1 1  of  the  36  fathers  who  were  with  ■ 
their  families  could  not  speak  any  English,  while 
as  many  as  23  of  the  latter  had  not  been  natural- 
ized and  took  little  or  no  interest  in  public  affairs. 
Even  those  who  had  gone  through  the  formality 
of  becoming  American  citizens  lent  themselves 
readily  through  ignorance  to  the  scheming  of  petty 
politicians.  One  woman  who  had  been  in  this 
country  thirty-five  years  remarked  indignantly: 
"Oh,  he's  a  voter  all  right  (meaning  her  hus- 
band)— eighteen  years,  and  never  did  he  get  any- 
thing from  it.  I  used  to  get  mad  at  him  when  he 
had  no  work,  and  I  says  to  him  'Why  don't  you 
go  to  them  politicians?  You  vote  for  'em.  They 
ought  to  get  you  a  job.'  That's  what  other  people 
do,  but  he's  neyjjr_goUenji_cjm^^  v 

That  Mr.  Gogli  had  never  "gotten  a  cent  from  his 
vote"  was  certainly  a  credit  to  him  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. Others,  especially  those  from  the 
provinces  of  northern  Italy,  showed  a  better  under- 

167 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

Standing  of  our  democratic  institutions,  but  for 
the  most  part  the  confusion  of  new  surroundings, 
of  unknown  laws  and  regulations,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  unscrupulous  exploitation  to  which  many 
immigrants  are  prey,  make  the  workings  of  a 
democracy  something  of  a  puzzle. 

As  to  the  literacy  of  the  members  of  these  fami- 
lies, the  younger  generation  had  benefited  by  the 
educational  advantages  of  the  American  public 
school  system,  but  their  elders,  who  had  spent 
their  early  youth  in  Italy,  where  compulsory  edu- 
cation is  still  in  its  infancy,  were  in  many  cases 
unable  to  read  or  write  either  Italian  or  English. 
Twelve  of  the  38  fathers  had  never  attended  school, 
and  for  a  number  who  had  acquired  the  rudiments 
of  reading  and  writing,  these  accomplishments 
were  practised  only  with  considerable  effort.  The 
ignorance  of  the  parents,  moreover,  was  frequently 
visited  upon  the  children.  Failing  to  appreciate 
the  value  of  education  themselves,  they  often  kept 
their  children  home  from  school  on  the  slightest 
pretext.  No  effort  was  made,  moreover,  to  keep 
the  children  in  school  for  any  longer  time  than  the 
law  required.  The  younger  generation,  on  the  other 
hand,  looked  down  on  the  ignorance  and  the  old- 
jcountry  habits  of  their  parents. 

SOURCES  OF  INCOME 
The  Wage-earners:    Chief  among  the  sources  of 
the  family  income,  as  has  been  shown  in  the  discus- 
sion of  the  families  of  all  the  women  investigated, 

168 


/ 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

are  the  earnings  of  the  family's  wage-earners.  The 
often  low  wages  of  the  individual  worker  are  to  a 
certain  extent  offset  by  the  large  number  of  bread- 
winners in  each  household.  Each  child,  as  he  or 
she  reaches  the  age  of  fourteen,  is  asked  to  earn 
a  few  dollars  toward  the  family  budget.  The 
mother  also  adds  her  quota  by  taking  in  lodgers, 
doing  home  work,  going  out  to  do  a  day's  wash- 
ing, or  acting  as  janitress  for  the  tenement  where 
they  live.  Even  the  children  who  are  too  young 
to  leave  school  are  called  away  from  their  play  to 
sit  long  hours  helping  the  mother  make  wreaths  of 
daisies  or  fancy  feathers,  or  to  finish  men's  coats. 
Table  28  shows  the  large  proportion  among  the 
members  of  all  ages  who  were  contributing  in 
some  way  to  the  family  income. 

TABLE  28. — CONTRIBUTORS  TO  FAMILY  INCOME 
AMONG  MEMBERS  OF  48  ITALIAN  FAMILIES,  BY 
AGE  AND  SEX 


All  mem- 

Contn 

butors 

Age  and  sex 

bers  of 

Per  cent 

families 

Number 

of  all 
members 

Male  heads  of  families 

36 

32 

89 

Other  males  14  years  of  age  or 

more 

Female    heads   or   mothers   of 

52 

49 

94 

families 

Other  females  14  years  of  age  or 

46 

35 

76 

more 

Children  less  than  14  years  of 

92 

87 

95 

age     ... 

102 

20 

28 

Total 

328 

232 

7'  / 

169 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

In  these  48  families,  232  of  the  328  members,  or 
71  per  cent,  were  contributing  in  some  way  to  the 
family  income.1  This  is  an  average  of  five  contrib- 
utors in  an  average  family  of  seven  members. 
Of  the  96  who  were  not  working  for  money,  73 
were  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age,  five 
were  between  fourteen  and  sixteen,  and  of  the  18 
who  were  sixteen  years  or  more,  1 1  were  mothers. 
Thus  90  per  cent  of  all  the  members  of  families 
who  were  of  working  age,  including  the  mothers 
of  the  families,  were  at  work.  The  contributors 
under  fourteen  helped  with  the  home  work.  The 
one  man,  not  the  head  of  a  family,  who  was  not  a 
wage-earner  was  an  aged  grandfather  who  had 
long  since  left  the  productive  years  of  his  life  be- 
hind him.  The  proportion  at  work  among  the 
women  is  high,  especially  among  those  not  moth- 
ers of  families.2 

1  The  544  families  included  in  the  entire  investigation  had  62  per 
cent  of  their  members  contributing.  A  study  of  the  100  wage-earners' 
families  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  in  1914  showed  47  per  cent  of  all  mem- 
bers contributing  and  70  per  cent  of  those  fourteen  years  of  age  or 
more.  A  study  of  100  families  of  women  munition  makers  in  Bridge- 
port, Connecticut,  in  1916  showed  57  per  cent  of  all  members  gain- 
fully employed  and  75  per  cent  of  those  fourteen  years  of  age  or  more. 
I  hose  two  groups,  both  of  which  showed  a  decidedly  lower  proportion 
of  contributors  than  our  Italian  families,  are  mixed  as  to  nativity 
but  represent  a  substantial  proportion  of  American-born  families,  75 
per  cent  in  the  Springfield  group,  and  nearly  50  per  cent  in  the  Bridge- 
port group.  (Odencrantzand  Potter.  Industrial  Conditions  in  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  p.  120.  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  June,  1916.  Hewes, 
Amy.  Women  as  Munition  Makers,  p.  6<S.  Russell  Sage  Foundation, 
July,  1017.) 

-  In  the  P.ridgeport  study  referred  to  in  the  footnote  above,  the 
proportion  of  women  fourteen  years  or  more  who  were  wage-earners 
v. .is  67  per  cent. 


170 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

Men  Wage-earners :  Of  the  36  fathers  who  were 
living  at  home,  32  were  contributing  in  some  way 
to  the  family  income.  The  majority  were  em- 
ployed in  the  unskilled  or  at  best  semi-skilled  occu- 
pations of  the  factory  or  in  the  casual  and  highly 
seasonal  building  trades.  Of  these,  1 1  were  em- 
ployed in  factories,  engaged  in  the  making  of  such 
varied  products  as  candy,  liquors,  bags,  paper, 
steel  wire,  pumice  stone,  clothing,  and  bookbind- 
ing. Eight  worked  in  the  mechanical  and  building 
trades  as  masons,  hod  carriers,  engineers,  and  day 
laborers;  eight  had  their  own  business  which  was 
of  the  peddling,  fruit  stand  or  bootblack  variety; 
one  was  employed  in  a  wholesale  house;  and  four 
contributed  only  what  they  made  in  assisting  their 
wives  with  home  work.  Four  of  the  fathers  were 
not  making  any  contribution  toward  maintaining 
the  home.  As  these  men  were  all  fifty  years  of""! 
age  or  more,  the  age  at  which  the  Italian  considers 
himself  already  an  old  man,  they  thought  that  the  ' 
time  had  come  for  them  to  sit  comfortably  at 
home  and  be  supported  by  their  children.  The 
traditional  indolence  of  southern  peoples  rather 
than  exhaustion  from  a  life  of  strenuous  work 
strengthened  them  in  this  conviction.  One  was  a 
gambler  whose  gaming  losses  had  forced  him  and 
his  family  to  leave  Sicily  and  seek  a  fortune  in  the 
New  World.  Another  had  never  worked  very 
steadily  and  now  permitted  himself  to  be  sup- 
ported by  the  work  of  his  seventeen-year-old  ' 
daughter  and  his  half-witted  fifteen-year-old  son, 
12  1  y  1  <^J 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

supplemented  by  a  casual  day's  washing  by  his 
wife. 

If  there  had  been  no  data  by  which  to  check 
up  the  earnings  of  the  fathers  at  work  during  the 
course  of  the  year,  one  might  think  from  the  state- 
ments of  wage  rates  in  their  trades  or  of  the  earn- 
ings of  their  independent  businesses  that  they  were 
receiving  at  least  not  below  the  usual  range  of 
wages  at  that  time.1  Out  of  the  32  at  work  22  re- 
ported that  they  made  $10  or  more  a  week,  while 
as  many  as  nine  said  that  they  earned  $15  or  more. 
The  median  wage  for  the  group  was  between  $10 
and  $11.  When  an  analysis  is  made  of  the  year's 
record  of  earnings,  however,  it  is  found  that  in 
many  cases  these  full-time  wages  are  received  in 
only  a  comparatively  small  number  of  weeks.  For 
example,  two  masons  each  said  that  they  made  $24 
a  week — the  maximum  wage  reported.  After 
looking  over  the  record  of  the  year's  earnings  it 
was  found  that  one  of  these,  a  man  of  sixty,  be- 
yond the  age  for  such  physically  arduous  labor, 
had  made  $24,  the  full-time  rate,  in  only  four  of 
the  fifty-two  weeks  in  the  year,  that  in  four  he 
had  had  part-time  work  which  paid  him  an  aver- 
age of  $3.10  a  week,  and  that  in  the  remaining 
forty-four  weeks  he  had  not  made  a  cent.     The 


'The  United  States  Census  Bureau  in  the  last  wage  statistics 
which  it  has  published,  gives  S11.16  as  the  average  and  $10  to  $12 
as  the  median  weekly  earnings  for  men  sixteen  years  and  over  em- 
ployed in  the  manufacturing  industries  of  the  country.  (United 
States  Bureau  of  the  Census.  Census  of  Manufactures,  1005.  Bul- 
letin oj.     Earnings  of  Wage-earners,  p.  12.) 

172 


vy 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

other  mason  who  was  still  in  the  prime  of  his  phys- 
ical powers  rnade_|2^_for  eight  week_s,  worked  part 
time  for  thirty-six,  averaging  $12.50  a  week,  and 
for  two  months  was  entirely  out  of  work.  A  hod 
carrier,  who  gave  his  wages  as  $16.50,  made  that 
amount  for  only  thirteen  weeks,  and  while  he  was 
actually  unemployed  for  only  two  weeks,  for  four- 
teen his  earnings  fluctuated  between  $3.00  and 
$4.50.  Another  hod  carrier  whose  full-time  rate 
was  $15,  was  out  of  work  twenty-five  weeks,  on 
part  time  for  thirteen,  and  earning  full  wages  for 
only  fourteen.  Some  of  the  factory  workers  re- 
ceived a  fairly  regular  income  from  their  work, 
but  slack  weeks  brought  them  part-time  wages 
and  even  actual  though  brief  unemployment. 
Where  the  full-time  wage  was  low  these  irregulari- 
ties could  be  even  less  easily  borne.  Of  the  32 
male  heads  of  households  who  were  contributors 
to  the  family  budget,  20  reported  their  work  to 
be  distinctly  irregular  and  the  record  of  the  year's 
earnings  reaffirmed  this  fact;  while  among  the  12 
whose  work  was  considered  fairly  regular,  the 
wages  did  not  maintain  a  uniform  level  and  even 
one  or  two  weeks  of  actual  shut-down  were  re- 
corded in  several  cases. 

In  these  households,  in  addition  to  the  fathers, 
49  sons  fourteen  years  old  or  more  were  at  work 
and  contributed  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  to  the 
family  budget.  A  comparison  of  their  occupa- 
tions with  those  of  their  fathers  reveals  the  progress 
of  Americanization  in  the  second  generation.    Of 

•73 


e 

n 

s  1 

u 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

^-^  the  younger  men  12,  or  nearly  one-fourth,  were 
skilled  mechanics,  such  as  carpenters,  machinists, 
plumbers,  electricians,  roofers,  and  blacksmiths, 
while  only  three,  or  less  than  one-tenth  of  the 
fathers,  were  in  similar  pursuits.  Many  of  the 
sons  also  commented  on  the  desirability  of  having 
a  trade.  Another  fourth  of  the  younger  men  were 
salesmen,  shipping  clerks,  bookkeepers,  or  other 
clerical  helpers.  None  of  their  fathers  was  thus 
employed.  A  sixth  of  the  younger  men  were  in 
factory  work — and  in  these  eight  cases  it  was  the 
more  highly  skilled  trades,  such  as  printing  and 
work  on  men's  clothing — while  nearly  a  third  of 
the  fathers  were  also  in  such  employment.  Eight 
out  of  32  working  fathers  were  peddlers,  fruit-stand 
merchants,  and  bootblacks  on  their  own  financial 
backing,  while  one  son  had  had  his  own  boot- 
blacking  stand  but  had  given  it  up  in  the  course 
of  the  year.  This  rough  comparison  reveals  the 
readiness  with  which  the  native-born  sons  of  immi- 
grant fathers  adopt  the  American  attitude  toward 
different  classes  of  occupations.  Clerical  work  and 
the  skilled  mechanical  trades  which  attracted  the 
two  largest  groups  have,  according  to  the  view 
of  the  average  working-class  American,  a  higher 
social  standing  than  factory  work  and,  of  course, 
than  peddling  or  day  labor.  The  younger  men 
were  also  employed  as  drivers  and  wagon  boys, 
•  office  or  errand  boys,  postmen  and  porters.  Three 
who  were  habitual  loafers  and  ne'er-do-wells  did 
odd  jobs  when  the  spirit  moved  them. 

174 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

The  wages  of  these  boys  and  young  men  were 
naturally  lower  than  those  of  their  fathers,  since 
many  of  them  were  still  minors  and  just  beginning 
their  work  careers.  Two  who  were  schoolboys 
were  delivering  newspapers  or  running  errands 
after  school  hours.  Nevertheless,  as  many  as  21 
out  of  the  49  were  making  $10  or  more  and  15 
were  making  at  least  $12.  The  median  wage  was 
between  $8.00  and  $9.00.  The  same  irregularity 
which  marked  their  fathers'  work  affected  their 
own  earning  power.  Only  seven  had  been  em- 
ployed the  full  fifty-two  weeks,  while  eight  had 
been  at  work  less  than  three  months,  18  less  than 
six  months,  and  27  had  had  at  least  three  months 
of  unemployment.  But  industry  cannot  be  asked 
to  shoulder  the  entire  blame  for  this  irregularity. 
A  number  of  the  boys  were  shiftless  and  drifted 
from  one  job  to  another  or  threw  up  a  regular 
position  for  no  apparent  reason.  A  few  had  lost 
time  because  of  sickness,  and  one  died  of  tubercu- 
losis during  the  course  of  the  year.  But  whatever 
the  cause,  the  fact  of  irregularity  in  this  source  of 
income  is  undeniable. 

Contributions  to  the  Family  Budget:  From  the 
point  of  view  of  the  family  income  the  earnings  of 
fathers  and  sons,  moreover,  were  even  smaller  than 
has  been  indicated.  In  the  contributions  of  the 
men  of  the  family  is  revealed  the  traditional  Italian" 
attitude  on  sex  equality.  The  boys  usually  paid 
board — a  certain  more  or  less  definite  portion  of 
their  earnings,  often   about   half — and   kept   the 

'75 


7 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

remainder  for  their  own  purposes.  The  fathers 
also  made  certain  reservations  in  contributing  to 
the  family  budget.  As  one  mother  said,  "Of  course 
they  don't  give  all  they  make.  They're  men  and 
you  never  know  their  ways."  On  the  other  hand, 
it  was  assumed  as  a  matter  of  course  that  the  girl's^ 
pay  envelope  should  be  turned  over  to  her  mother 
fntact.  "  It  wouldn't  look  nice  to  pay  board  to  the 
mother  that  raised  you,"  was  the  common  view  of 
the  girls,  while  the  question  as  to  whether  the 
brothers  also  contributed  everything  they  made 
to  the  home  received  the  answer,  "Oh,  no,  he's  a 
boy."  Even  when  the  son  gave  in  all  his  earnings 
— and  instances  of  this  occurred  only  among  the 
younger  boys — he  received  a  larger  allowance  for 
spending  money  than  his  sister.  Tony  Ferrari  was 
given  50  to  75  cents  weekly,  while  his  sister  Rosa 
had  to  be  satisfied  with  25  cents. 

Thus,  unlike  many  of  her  sisters  of  other  races, 
the  Italian  woman  by  going  to  work  does  not 
achieve  that  economic  independence  which  is  often 
thought  to  be  the  chief  motive  impelling  the  mod- 
ern woman  to  take  up  a  gainful  occupation.  The 
general  attitude  was  that  the  going  to  work  of  the 
women  of  the  family  was  an  inevitable  evil  induced 
by  conditions  of  American  life  which  did  not  in  any 
way  alter  their  dependent  position.  "  In  Italy  girls 
don't  work,  but  to  eat  here,  everybody's  got  to 
work."  In  this  way,  the  women  are  kept  in  the 
paradoxical  position  of  simultaneous  wage-earning 
and  dependence. 

170 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

In  regularity  of  their  contributions  the  girls  also 
"led  all  the  rest.  In  38  of  the  48  families  a  single 
source  of  income  could  be  picked  out  as  the  most 
regular  throughout  the  year,  regardless  of  its  size. 
In  1  3,  or  over  a  third  of  the  cases,  this  source  was 
the  earnings  of  one  of  the  daughters.  In  nine  it  was 
the  son's  contribution,  in  eight  the  father's,  in  five 
the  income  from  lodgers  or  a  boarder,  and  in  three 
the  earnings  of  the  mother.  Of  course,  in  the  ques- 
tion of  the  size  of  the  contribution,  the  ranking  is 
somewhat  different.  It  was  possible  to  single  out 
for  each  of  the  48  families  the  largest  source  of 
income.  The  fathers  led  with  19  families  in  which 
their  quota  was  the  largest.  However,  the  daugh- 
ters came  next  with  1  3  families  in  which  they  were 
the  mainstay,  and  after  them  came  the  sons  with 
1 1  families,  the  mothers  with  four,  and  last  of  all, 
one  in  which  insurance  of  over  $1,000  was  paid  on 
the  death  of  a  tuberculous  son,  a  large  part  of  which 
was  spent  on  the  expenses  attendant  on  his  sickness 
and  funeral. 

The  Women  Wage-eamers:  In  all  there  were  122 
women  engaged  in  paid  work  in  these  families. 
Of  35  mothers  at  work  only  1 3  were  employed 
outside  the  home,  five  in  factories,  two  at  day's 
work  for  families  in  the  neighborhood,  one  as 
a  visitor  for  a  philanthropic  society,  and  five 
as  janitresses  of  the  tenements  in  which  they 
themselves  lived.  Two  of  the  factory  workers,  one 
day  worker,  and  a  janitress  supplemented  their 
earnings  in  these  occupations  by  keeping  lodgers 

177 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

as  well,  while  three  janitresses  were  also  home 
workers  on  artificial  flowers.  In  the  1 1  households- 
in  which  the  mother  was  living  but  did  not  con- 
tribute to  the  family  income,  the  father  was  living 
and  at  home.  He  was  also  living  and  at  home  in 
families  in  which  the  mother  was  a  janitress  or 
went  out  for  day's  work,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
many  families  in  which  in  addition  to  being  the 
housekeeper  and  taking  care  of  her  large  family, 
she  slaved  at  home  work  or  kept  lodgers.  The  five 
factory  workers  and  the  one  social  worker  were  all 
widows  and  hence  heads  of  their  own  households. 
There  were  15  mothers  who  contributed  through 
home  work  only,  and  there  were  seven  more  who 
combined  this  means  of  wage-earning  with  other 
incidental  occupations.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that 
a  large  proportion  of  the  mothers,  in  addition  to 
their  arduous  duties  as  home  makers  for  large 
families,  also  made  a  money  contribution  toward 
the  maintenance  of  the  home.  And  this  was  true 
in  families  in  which  the  father  was  living  as  well 
as  those  in  which  he  was  not. 

The  daughters  who  were  old  enough  to  be  wage- 
earners  were  almost  all  in  factory  work.  The  three 
exceptions  out  of  the  total  of  83  young  women  em- 
ployed outside  the  home  were  a  bookkeeper,  a  mail 
clerk,  and  a  playground  attendant.  The  remain- 
ing 80  were  factory  workers,  34  in  the  clothing 
trades,  men's  and  women's,  24  in  work  on  flowers 
and  feathers,  seven  in  candy  factories,  and  the  re- 
mainder in  the  manufacture  <>f  a  variety  of  articles. 

178 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

As  a  natural  consequence  of  their  employment  in 
such  large  proportions  in  distinctly  seasonal  trades 
their  work,  and  hence  its  proceeds,  were  quite 
irregular.  Only  three  girls  had  lost  no  time  during 
the  year  from  any  cause  whatsoever;  18  had  lost 
less  than  one  month,  17  one  month,  18  two  months, 
20  from  three  to  six  months,  and  seven  six  months 
or  even  more.  As  among  all  the  women  in  the 
larger  study  the  greatest  proportion  had  lost  time 
through  slack  season  which  led  either  to  entire 
unemployment  or  to  part-time  work,  while  the 
smallest  proportion  had  lost  time  by  taking  a  vaca- 
tion without  pay  or  voluntarily  quitting  the  job. 
The  Italian  girl  takes  her  breadwinning  more  seri- 
ously than  does  her  brother,  who,  for  the  most  part, 
is  only  too  ready  to  throw  over  his  work  on  slight 
provocation  and  loaf  around  for  awhile  on  the  plea 
that  he  cannot  find  employment.  She  works  be- 
cause the  family  relies  on  her  to  do  her  part,  and 
it  is  not  her  fault  as  a  rule  if  she  is  out  of  work. 
She  feels  her  responsibility  keenly  and  slack  time 
is  a  season  of  horror  for  her.  "  Last  summer  when 
I  was  laid  off  for  nine  weeks,  I  couldn't  sleep  nights. 
It  was  awful,"  said  one  girl.  She  tried  to  bridge 
the  gap  with  work  in  other  industries,  and  the 
best  that  she  could  find  was  a  job  in  a  large  plant 
preparing  spices,  where  she  worked  from  7:30  in  the 
morning  until  6:30  at  night  for  $4.00  a  week. 

It  is  not  the  size  of  the  contribution,  however, 
which  causes  this  reliance  of  the  family  on  the  earn- 
ings of  its  daughters.    The  median  earnings  for  the 

179 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

82  at  work  in  the  first  week  of  the  year  were  $6. 1 7, 
and  for  the  76  employed  during  the  last  week  $6.83. 
The  median  annual  income  of  $275,  moreover, 
shows  that  the  weekly  average  earnings  for  these 
women  are  even  lower  than  the  earnings  in  anyone 
week. 

Home  Work:  It  is  mothers  chiefly  who  take  up 
home  work  with  the  assistance  of  children  who  are 
too  young  to  go  to  school.  Forty-eight  of  the  232 
contributors  in  these  families  made  their  contribu- 
tion wholly  through  home  work.  Fifteen  of  these 
were  mothers,  and  26  children  under  fourteen.  Be- 
sides this  group  of  home  workers,  56  more,  chiefly 
young  girls  employed  in  other  wage-earning  occupa- 
tions by  day,  assisted  in  swelling  the  family  income 
by  this  means.  In  26  of  the  48  households  home 
work  was  being  carried  on  at  some  time  during  the 
year,  and  21  of  these  families  were  making  artificial 
flowers.  The  other  five  were  working  on  feathers, 
coats,  corset  covers,  and  belts. 

All  the  industries  which  supplied  these  families 
with  work  to  be  finished  at  home  were  highly  sea- 
sonal, especially  the  artificial  flower  trade.  It  is 
obvious,  therefore,  that  this  source  of  income  is  also 
markedly  irregular.  There  are  periods  of  the  year 
when  it  is  difficult  or  even  impossible  to  get  any 
work  to  take  away  from  the  factories,  and  even  in 
the  busier  periods  the  demand  for  home  work  is 
often  greater  than  the  supply  to  be  allotted.  The 
growing  comprehension   among  employers  of  the 


180 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

inefficiency  and  dangers  of  home  work  is  making 
itself  felt  in  the  decreased  amounts  available  for 
families  that  have  been  home  workers  for  years. 
One  of  the  girls  told  of  having  to  go  early  and  then 
of  waiting  several  hours  to  get  any  stock,  because 
there  was  not  enough  for  all.  "It's  first  come, 
first  served."  Mrs.  Silvio  remarked  that  her  shop 
seemed  to  consider  it  almost  a  favor  to  give  the 
stock  to  her  rather  than  to  someone  else.  One 
family  that  had  worked  on  feathers  the  entire 
summer  the  year  before  had  not  been  able  to  get 
any  during  the  corresponding  period  of  the  year  of 
the  investigation.  Thus,  it  is  through  the  tricks  of 
fashion  and  of  weather  and  through  increasing  en- 
lightenment in  regard  to  its  evils  that  home  work  is 
playing  a  smaller  and  smaller  part  in  the  family  sup- 
port. That,  however  irregular,  it  is  still  present  as 
a  factor,  both  in  the  size  of  the  income  and  in  the 
standards  of  home  life,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
over  half  the  families  in  the  group  received  any- 
where from  i  to  33  per  cent  of  their  year's  in- 
come from  this  source.  This  proportion  does  not, 
of  course,  indicate  a  large  financial  return,  but  im- 
plies rather,  for  the  cases  where  the  proportion  is 
high,  a  miserably  inadequate  income  on  which  to 
support  a  family  of  any  size. 

The  facts  regarding  the  pitiful  rewards  which 
home  work  brings  for  almost  heartbreaking  efforts 
are  too  well  known  to  need  much  iteration  here. 
The  median  average  weekly  earnings  in  the  26 
home  work  families  for  the  weeks  in  which  they  had 

181 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

home  work  during  the  entire  year  was  $3. 38.  Only 
four  families  averaged  as  much  as  $5.00  a  week, 
while  as  many  as  10  averaged  less  than  $3.00  a 
week.  The  average  year's  income  from  this  source 
for  each  of  the  26  families  that  had  done  home  work 
for  any  period  during  the  year  was  $98.31.  These 
figures  would  be  shamefully  low  as  the  earnings  of 
one  person  in  any  kind  of  occupation,  but  when  it  is 
remembered  that  they  represent  the  reward  for  the 
labor  of  three,  four,  five,  or  more  persons  they  seem 
incredible.  In  only  four  of  the  26  families  were 
there  fewer  than  three  home  workers,  all  the  re- 
mainder having  three,  four,  or  five,  except  two 
which  had  six  and  one  eight.  In  the  Monica  family 
only  one  of  the  nine  members  took  no  part  in  the 
home  work.  The  mother  bore  the  brunt  of  it,  but 
she  was  assisted  by  the  father  and  two  older  girls, 
all  three  of  whom  had  other  occupations  by  day — 
when  the  seasons  permitted — and  by  four  younger 
children.  They  were  paid  only  8  cents  a  gross  for 
stemming  leaves  and  5  cents  a  gross  for  stem- 
ming purple  ostrich  feathers.  They  estimated  at 
the  first  interview  that  they  usually  made  $5.00  a 
week  at  this  work,  but  the  record  at  the  end  of  the 
year  showed  this  to  be  their  maximum,  earned  in 
only  two  of  the  thirty-three  weeks  in  which  they 
had  had  home  work. 

In  another  family  in  which  home  work  on  flowers 
was  the  only  paid  work  of  the  mother  and  oldest 
daughter,  f>\  3  was  earned  in  each  of  the  two  weeks 
preceding  Christmas,  but  only  by  dint  of  unremit- 

1.S2 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

ting  labor  from  early  morning  until  late  in  the 
night.  The  following  week  there  was  no  home  work 
to  be  had.  This  was  the  high-water  mark  in  earn- 
ings from  home  work  for  the  entire  group,  but  even 
these  two  weeks  did  not  lift  the  family  weekly  aver- 
age for  the  thirty-four  weeks  in  which  they  were 
able  to  get  work  beyond  $5.09.  Only  one  family 
registered  a  higher  average  than  this  ($5.14),  and 
for  them  the  work  lasted  only  seven  weeks.  Any- 
where from  60  cents  to  a  dollar  was  considered 
a  good  day's  earnings  for  work  which  the  mother 
would  start  in  the  morning  after  her  household 
tasks  were  finished — sometimes  before — the  chil- 
dren take  up  on  their  return  from  school,  and  the 
older  daughters  when  they  came  home  from  the 
factory  at  night. 

No  compensation  for  low  earnings,  as  has  been 
pointed  out,  is  found  in  regularity  of  the  work.  The 
averages  quoted  have  all  been  based  on  the  num- 
ber of  weeks  when  home  work  was  to  be  had.  If 
the  average  for  the  year  of  $98.31  per  family  were 
to  be  apportioned  out  among  the  entire  fifty-two 
weeks  of  the  year  it  would  leave  only  $1.89  for 
each  week  of  the  year.  Many  individual  families 
would  show  a  much  blacker  record  if  their  annual 
income  from  home  work  were  to  be  divided  by  52. 
Only  four  were  able  to  secure  home  work  as  long  as 
nine  months.  None  had  been  busy  a  full  fifty-two 
weeks,  the  record  of  fifty  weeks  being  held  by  one 
family. 

183 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

Lodgers  and  Boarders :  N  ine  of  the  families  supple- 
mented their  income  by  taking  into  their  already 
crowded  homes  some  of  their  fellow-countrymen  or 
women  as  lodgers  or  boarders.  The  family  coffers 
were  not  greatly  increased  in  this  way,  nor  were  the 
living  accommodations  made  more  comfortable. 
The  keeping  of  lodgers  did  not  lead  in  every  case 
to  serious  overcrowding,  but  the  addition  to  four 
of  the  households  made  the  family  exceed  the  mea- 
sure accepted  as  constituting  congestion;  that  is, 
an  average  of  more  than  one  and  one-half  persons 
per  room.  Eight  members  of  the  Caruso  family 
lived  in  the  three-room  apartment  which  they  oc- 
cupied in  return  for  Mrs.  Caruso's  services  as  jani- 
tress.  In  order  to  increase  their  income  by  $3.50  a 
month,  they  took  a  man  as  lodger,  who  for  some 
unfathomable  reason  was  willing  to  put  up  with 
their  crowded  quarters.  The  crowding  of  eight 
people  into  three  rooms  would  have  seemed  bad 
enough  without  adding  a  ninth  to  their  misery,  and 
the  low  rate  the  lodger  paid  does  not  explain  his 
reason  for  enduring  this  discomfort  since  he  could 
have  found  less  crowded  quarters  for  his  money. 
The  monthly  rate  ranged  for  the  majority  from 
$3.00  to  $5.00  and  rarely  did  this  secure  for  the 
lodger  a  separate  room.  Not  alone  did  he  or  she 
share  a  room  with  members  of  the  family,  but 
often  the  bed  was  also  shared.  Two  households 
also  had  boarders.  One,  a  family  of  five  in  which 
both   mother  and   father  were  home  workers  on 


184 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

flowers,  had  two  women  lodgers  in  addition  to  its 
man  boarder,  making  a  total  of  eight  persons  living 
in  its  four  rooms  without  bath.  They  drew  a 
monthly  income  of  $22  from  this  source,  $12  from 
the  boarder  and  $5.00  from  each  of  the  lodgers.  In 
most  of  these  nine  families,  however,  only  one 
lodger  was  accommodated  and  the  added  increment 
to  the  budget  from  his  payments  was  negligible. 
That  the  discomfort  caused  by  added  crowding  was 
not  considered  worth  while  by  most  of  the  48 
families  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  less  than  one- 
fifth  of  them  "bothered"  with  the  inconvenience 
of  keeping  lodgers. 

Other  Sources  of  Income:  Few  households  had 
other  means  of  support  than  the  earnings  of  their 
wage-earners,  both  in  and  outside  the  home,  and 
the  payments  of  lodgers.  The  nine  who  could  count 
on  some  other  contribution  represented,  however, 
a  variety  in  sources  of  income.  One  family  had 
bought,  with  their  savings  and  a  small  inheritance, 
the  old-fashioned  three-story  house  on  Macdougal 
Street  in  which  they  lived  and  at  the  first  of  each 
month  received  the  tidy  sum  of  $62  for  the  rentals 
of  the  two  upper  floors  and  the  basement.  After 
interest  on  the  mortgage  and  taxes  had  been  paid, 
a  net  profit  of  more  than  $400  remained  for  the 
year.  In  another  family  a  scholarship  of  $2.50  a 
week  for  one  of  the  girls  from  a  vocational  guidance 
committee  was  the  substitute  for  the  small  earnings 
which  this  child,  just  fourteen,  might  have  made 


.85 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

had  she  gone  to  work  in  some  dead-end  job  instead 
of  taking  the  training  as  a  stenographer  at  Wash- 
ington Irving  High  School,  which  she  was  doing. 
Two  families  had  received  sick  benefits  from  fra- 
ternal societies  for  a  few  weeks  during  the  illness 
of  one  of  their  members,  and  a  third  had  secured  a 
small  compensation  for  an  elevator  accident.  An- 
other had  received  assistance  from  a  relief  society 
to  tide  it  over  a  particularly  troublous  time;  still 
another  had  borrowed  a  small  amount  from  a  friend 
and  not  repaid  it ;  and  two  others  had  spent  sub- 
stantial parts  of  their  savings  or  life  insurance  in 
order  to  make  both  ends  meet. 

THE  INCOME  AS  A  WHOLE 

To  realize  the  family's  assets  before  considering 
its  liabilities,  and  to  view  its  income  as  a  tangible 
whole,  the  contributions  from  its  various  sources 
must  be  drawn  together.  We  have  seen  how  the 
fathers,  the  sons,  the  mothers,  the  daughters,  and 
even  the  little  children  do  their  bit  toward  support- 
ing the  home.  The  whole  which  these  bits  form 
and  the  importance  of  the  part  played  by  each  is 
shown  by  an  itemized  resume  for  each  family,  given 
in   Table  29. 

In  this  small  group  of  families  we  find  a  wide 
range  in  incomes  for  the  year,  extending  from  $457 
all  the  way  to  $3,716.  Two  had  less  than  $600, 
four  less  than  $700,  six  less  than  $800,  12  less  than 
$900,  and  16,  or  a  third  of  the  whole  group,  less 
than  $1,000.      The  median  income  for  the  group 

186 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

TABLE  29. — INCOME  IN  YEAR  OF  INVESTIGATION  FOR 
48  ITALIAN  FAMILIES,  SHOWING  NUMBER  OF  CON- 
TRIBUTORS AND  PROPORTION   FROM  EACH   SOURCE 


Per  cent  of  income  from  each  source 

Total 
yearly 

Per 
capita 
yearly 

Number 
of  con- 
tribu- 

Family 
number 

Wage-earners 

Home 

Lodgers 

All 

income 

income 

tors 

Men 

Women 

work 

boarders 

other 

1 

%  457 

%  76 

5 

2 

65 

33 

2 

532 

106 

3 

1 

99 

3 

60s 

86 

O 

27 

53 

20 

4 

626 

157 

3 

40 

38 

16 

'0 

S 

737 

123 

4 

22 

78 

6 

753 

151 

4 

27 

73 

7 

809 

90 

5 

69 

30 

1 

8 

810 

203 

3 

20 

67 

4 

9 

819 

20s 

4" 

69 

18 

13 

10 

852 

142 

4 

53 

26 

21 

11 

854 

171 

Sa 

15 

42 

20 

23 

12 

894 

149 

5 

37 

54 

9 

13 

907 

76 

4 

25 

75 

14 

942 

235 

4" 

54 

34 

9 

3 

IS 

944 

236 

3 

2 

93 

4 

1 

16 

996 

166 

6a 

74 

19 

6 

1 

17 

1,008 

168 

5 

33 

39 

18 

8 

2 

18 

1,035 

115 

9a 

47 

42 

II 

19 

1,039 

208 

2 

70 

30 

20 

1,052 

263 

3 

81 

17 

2 

21 

1.078 

180 

5 

100 

22 

1,140 

228 

4 

63 

7,2 

5 

23 

1,140 

190 

4 

71 

9 

20 

24 

1,141 

163 

4 

49 

51 

25 

1,171 

167 

6 

74 

12 

14 

26 

1. 175 

196 

3 

22 

78 

27 

1. 179 

147 

6 

64 

33 

3 

28 

1,200 

171 

5 

57 

43 

29 

1,229 

154 

5 

62 

27 

1  r 

30 

1,240 

155 

6 

42 

51 

4 

31 

1,269 

159 

5 

45 

55 

32 

1,272 

141 

6 

44 

55 

1 

33 

1.348 

123 

7 

36 

53 

11 

34 

1.369 

114 

8 

28 

65 

7 

35 

1,401 

280 

4 

37 

58 

5 

36 

1,421 

355 

3 

70 

30 

37 

1,429 

179 

0 

52 

30 

17 

38 

1.494 

374 

3 

40 

60 

39 

1.555 

222 

5 

33 

61 

6 

40 

1,676 

335 

5a 

49 

41 

7 

3 

41 

1.753 

159 

5 

79 

21 

42 

1,900 

271 

5 

80 

17 

3 

43 

I.9I7 

320 

4 

55 

45 

44 

2,009 

167 

6 

65 

35 

45 

2,042 

408 

5" 

31 

65 

1 

3 

46 

2,049 

256 

4 

52 

48 

47 

2.843 

355 

6 

73 

13 

14 

48 

3.716 

286 

9 

43 

23 

4 

30 

Average 

1,267 

195 

4.8 

47-7 

43-7 

4.2 

1-7 

2.7 

Indicates  that  all  members  of  family  are  contributors 


.87 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

was  $1,156,  and  the  average  $  1 ,267.  Ten  had  more 
than  $1,500,  and  five  more  than  $2,000. 

But  the  sum  of  money  which  flows  into  the 
family  treasury  during  a  year  does  not  mean  much 
unless  the  size  of  the  family  it  is  to  support  is  also 
taken  into  consideration.  The  per  capita  income, 
therefore,  gives  a  better  gauge  of  adequacy  than 
the  lump  sum  itself,  even  if  it  furnishes  but  a  rough 
basis  for  comparison.  Although  there  is  a  general 
tendency  toward  an  increase  in  per  capita  income 
with  increase  in  total  income,  this  tendency  is  sub- 
ject to  some  astonishing  variations.  The  family 
with  an  income  of  $810  had  a  higher  per  capita  in- 
come than  one  with  $2,009,  and  a  family  of  six 
would  hardly  have  less  difficulty  in  getting  on  with 
the  wretched  sum  of  $457  than  a  family  of  12  with 
$907.  The  average  was  $195  for  the  48  families — 
29  falling  below  the  average,  19  above  it. 

If  the  sum  total  of  the  income  does  not  indicate 
its  sufficiency  to  cover  family  needs,  neither  does 
the  number  of  contributors  seem  to  bear  a  definite 
relation  to  the  size  of  the  income.  The  lowest  in- 
come in  the  entire  group  ($457)  was  gathered  to- 
gether by  the  efforts  of  five  breadwinners,  while  in 
another  family  which  had  only  three  contributors 
the  income  was  nearly  $1,500.  Families  18  and  19 
with  almost  identical  incomes,  had  nine  and  two 
contributors  respectively.  No  family,  however, 
attained  an  income  of  more  than  $1,500  with  less 
than  four  contributors.  Nevertheless,  the  income 
does  not  necessarily  increase  with  the  number  of 

188 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

those  sharing  in  its  accumulation.  The  important 
thing  is  not  the  number  of  wage-earners  but  rather 
who  they  were,  what  they  did,  and  how  regularly 
they  did  it. 

The  families  in  which  the  contributions  of 
women  were  proportionately  important  were  not 
necessarily  those  in  which  the  incomes  were  small 
or  in  which  the  number  of  contributors  was  large. 
A  family  whose  income  was  nearly  $1,500  and 
which  had  only  three  breadwinners,  received  60  per 
cent  of  its  support  from  its  women  wage-earners. 
Another  whose  income  was  over  $2,000  counted  on 
69  per  cent  from  its  women,  65  per  cent  from  wage- 
earning  outside  the  home,  and  the  other  4  per  cent 
from  home  work  and  keeping  lodgers.  On  the 
other  hand,  some  of  the  lowest  incomes  were  in 
families  in  which  the  women  played  a  leading  part 
in  their  support,  and  vice  versa.  It  seems  evident, 
therefore,  that  no  definite  relation  exists  between 
the  size  of  income  and  the  importance  of  women 
as  contributors  to  it.  Whether  greater  or  less,  how- 
ever, the  share  of  the  women  in  maintaining  the 
household  is  large  for  the  entire  group.  In  22  of 
the  families  the  earnings  of  women  in  work  outside 
the  home  constituted  more  than  50  per  cent  of  the 
total  income,  and  in  only  eight  families  did  the 
quota  from  this  source  fall  below  25  per  cent.  In 
counting  the  women's  total  contributions  it  is  only 
fair,  moreover,  to  include  with  their  wages  from  fac- 
tory work  the  additional  funds  which  are  secured 
through  home  work  and  the  extra  labor  entailed  in 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

keeping  lodgers  or  boarders.  Taking  this  total  con- 
tribution as  a  basis,  only  four  families  were  receiv- 
ing less  than  25  per  cent  of  their  support  from  their 
women  members,  while  17  received  from  25  to  50 
per  cent,  18  from  50  to  75  per  cent,  seven  from  75 
to  100  per  cent  (in  two  of  which  the  women's  con- 
tributions were  98  and  99  per  cent  respectively), 
and  two  the  entire  income.  The  average  contribu- 
tion from  the  women  in  work  outside  the  home  was 
43.7  per  cent  of  the  total  income,  and  in  all  branches 
of  work  49.6. 

It  should  be  remembered,  of  course,  that  these 
are  families  selected  because  they  contained  women 
wage-earners.  That  it  is  common  among  Italians, 
however,  for  women  to  be  contributors  to  the 
family  budget  is  borne  out  by  the  reports  of  the 
United  States  Immigration  Commission,1  which 
places  them  second  in  this  respect  among  the  im- 
portant immigrant  nationalities.  These  48  fami- 
lies, therefore,  should  not  be  considered  as  abnormal 
in  the  importance  of  their  women  wage-earners. 

While  it  is  true  that  in  few  cases  would  the 
women's  earnings  alone  have  been  enough  to  pro- 
vide an  adequate  income,  and  there  is  no  intention 
to  belittle  the  substantial  share  contributed  by 
men,  nevertheless  in  eight  families  the  men's  con- 
tributions constituted  less  than  25  per  cent  of  the 
income  and  in  two  of  these  no  men  were  contrib- 
uting.    Among  these  eight  families  were  those  in 

1  United  States  Immigration  Commission,  Reports  of.  Vol.  27. 
Immigrants  in  Cities,  p.  $21.     Washington,  1911. 

IQO 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

which  the  father  was  either  dead  or  too  old  to  work, 
and  the  sons  either  too  young  or  too  shiftless  to  be 
of  value  as  wage-earners.  In  the  other  40  families, 
20  received  25  to  50  per  cent  of  their  incomes  from 
their  male  members,  17  received  50  to  75  per  cent, 
and  three  received  75  per  cent  or  more.  From  the 
nature  of  the  study  the  cases  selected  included  no 
families  wholly  supported  by* men  wage-earners. 

EXPENDITURES 

The  assets  of  this  group  of  families  are  before  us. 
It  now  remains  to  balance  against  them  the  liabilities 
and  mark  how  the  two  tally.  It  should  be  empha- 
sized here  that  the  object  in  securing  information 
in  regard  to  expenditures  was  not  to  find  out  the 
minimum  cost  of  living  for  wage-earning  immigrant 
families,  but  rather  to  measure'the  demands  on  the 
incomes  of  these  families  and  to  gauge  their  ade- 
quacy to  cope  with  the  needs  of  daily  life.  The  data 
on  expenses,  therefore,  were  not  an  end  in  them- 
selves, but  rather  a  means  toan  end.  The  chief  items 
of  expenditure  regarding  which  definite  data  were 
obtained  were  rent,  food,  heat  and  light,  and  life  in- 
surance. Except  in  a  few  instances  it  was  impossible 
to  get  a  complete  account  of  the  cost  of  clothing,  but 
enough  typical  expenditures  were  cited  to  give  an 
idea  of  the  importance  of  this  item  for  some  of  the 
families.  The  proportion  of  the  income  spent  by 
each  family  for  the  main  necessities  of  life,  except 
clothing,  and  the  margin  available  to  cover  this  and 
other  expenditures  as  well  as  savings  are  shown  in 
detail  in  Table  30. 

191 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 


TABLE  30. — INCOME  AND  EXPENDITURES  IN  THE 
YEAR  OF  INVESTIGATION  OF  48  ITALIAN  FAMILIES, 
SHOWING  PROPORTION  SPENT  FOR  EACH  PURPOSE 
AND  MARGIN  OR  DEFICIT  FOR  MEETING  EXPENSES 
FOR  CLOTHING  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  PURPOSES 


Total 
yearly 

Num- 
ber in 

Num- 
ber of 

Per  cent  of  expenditures  for  each  purpose 

Family 

Fuel 

Margin 
for 

number 

income 

family 

contrib- 
utors 

Rent 

Food 

and 
light 

Life  in- 
surance 

other 
expen- 
ditures 

1 

$457 

6 

5 

29 

97 

9 

4 

— 39B 

2 

532 

5 

3 

32 

47 

5 

16 

3 

605 

7 

6 

43 

62 

4 

3 

—    2B 

4 

626 

4 

3 

24 

52 

7 

16 

S 

737 

6 

4 

16 

44 

6 

34 

6 

753 

5 

4 

18 

45 

2 

34 

7 

809 

9 

5 

22 

58 

6 

8 

6 

8 

810 

4 

3 

20 

42 

3 

35 

9 

819 

4 

4 

13 

45 

4 

37 

10 

852 

6 

4 

27 

57 

6 

11 

11 

854 

5 

5 

20 

55 

4 

21 

12 

894 

6 

5 

23 

52 

7 

'6 

12 

13 

907 

12 

4 

17 

52 

5 

26 

14 

942 

4 

4 

14 

a 

5 

48 

15 

944 

4 

3 

17 

47 

5 

1 

30 

16 

996 

6 

0 

18 

31 

4 

S 

42 

17 

1,008 

6 

5 

23 

46 

5 

3 

23 

18 

1.035 

9 

9 

17 

60 

3 

1 

19 

19 

1.039 

5 

2 

17 

50 

3 

5 

25 

20 

1.052 

4 

3 

17 

48 

5 

5 

25 

21 

1,078 

6 

5 

16 

48 

4 

1 

30 

22 

1,140 

5 

4 

15 

46 

4 

1 

34 

23 

1,140 

6 

4 

22 

48 

4 

3 

23 

24 

1,141 

7 

4 

15 

56 

3 

3 

23 

25 

1,171 

7 

6 

13 

43 

4 

8 

39 

26 

1,175 

6 

3 

17 

49 

6 

10 

18 

27 

1. 179 

8 

6 

16 

62 

4 

3 

15 

28 

1,200 

7 

5 

14 

35 

1 

48 

29 

1,229 

8 

5 

1 1 

55 

4 

30 

30 

1,240 

8 

6 

16 

42 

3 

39 

31 

1,269 

8 

5 

13 

54 

3 

30 

32 

1,272 

9 

6 

16 

49 

4 

31 

33 

1,348 

11 

7 

15 

57 

3 

25 

34 

1,369 

12 

8 

13 

46 

3 

35 

35 

1,401 

5 

4 

14 

44 

3 

39 

36 

1,421 

4 

3 

11 

31 

2 

56 

37 

1 ,429 

8 

6 

1 1 

51 

3 

35 

38 

1.494 

4 

3 

13 

45 

2 

40 

V 

1. 555 

7 

5 

12 

40 

2 

45 

40 

1,676 

5 

5 

1 1 

37 

3 

49 

41 

I.7S3 

1 1 

5 

12 

45 

5 

38 

42 

1,900 

7 

5 

12 

4-' 

4 

39 

43 

I.9I7 

6 

4 

7 

•1' 

.! 

49 

44 

2,009 

1  ..• 

6 

15 

5  •! 

5 

28 

•IS 

-•."1  ' 

5 

5 

10 

38 

■1 

48 

46 

1,049 

8 

1 

1  1 

1  ' 

3 

4<1 

47 

J.8  1  | 

8 

0 

1  1 

30 

1 

S8 

48 

3,71'' 

13 

9 

6 

3' 

2 

58 

Average 

1,267 

6.8 

4.8 

M 

4S 

4 

35 

I''  |.n-  'ills  deficit  between  expenditures  and  actual  income. 
102 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

While  exceptions  could  be  cited  all  along  the 
line,  certain  general  tendencies  are  noticeable  in 
the  proportion  of  the  income  going  to  the  different 
main  objects  of  outlay.  As  the  income  becomes 
greater  the  proportion  expended  for  rent,  heat,  and 
light  tends  to  become  less,  as  does  also  the  outlay 
for  food.  On  the  other  hand,  the  greater  the  in- 
come the  greater  is  the  margin  for  clothing  and 
general  expenses,  such  as  health,  recreation,  car- 
fare, and  the  like.  Since  the  low  incomes  are  barely 
enough  to  cover  the  mere  necessities  of  life,  the 
items  for  shelter,  food,  and  heat  naturally  claim 
the  greater  part  of  the  budget  in  such  cases.  While 
the  amount  for  rent,  food,  and  heat  is  not  abso- 
lutely constant  it  does  not  increase  in  nearly  the 
same  ratio  as  the  income,  and  hence  as  the  income 
expands  a  constantly  increasing  margin  is  available 
for  other  needs.  These  tendencies  are  in  agreement 
with  the  findings  of  other  studies  of  family  budgets 
such  as  those  of  More1  and  Chapin.2 

The  average  income  of  $1,267  f°r  these  families 
is  divided  up  into  the  following  proportions  for  the 
main  items  of  expenditure:  $183,  or  14  per  cent, 
for  rent;  $571,  or  45  per  cent,  for  food;  $47,  or 
4  per  cent,  for  heat  and  light;  $19,  or  2  per  cent, 
for  life  insurance ;  and  $447,  or  35  per  cent,  remain- 
ing to  cover  the  cost  of  clothing  and  sundry  other 

1  More,  Louise  B.:  Wage-Earners'  Budgets.  New  York,  Henry 
Holt  and  Co.,  1907. 

2  Chapin,  Robert  Coit:  The  Standard  of  Living  in  New  York 
City.  Russell  Sage  Foundation  Publication.  New  York,  Charities 
Publication  Committee,  1909. 

193 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

expenses.  Of  the  30  families  whose  incomes  were 
less  than  the  average  25  spent  more  than  the  aver- 
age proportion  for  rent,  21  spent  more  than  the 
average  proportion  for  food,  and  13  spent  more 
than  the  average  proportion  for  fuel  and  light, 
while  only  six  had  more  than  the  average  margin 
for  other  expenses.  With  the  1 8  families  having  in- 
comes larger  than  the  average  the  opposite  was  the 
case,  a  decided  majority  having  expenditures  for 
food,  rent,  fuel,  and  light  proportionately  less  than 
the  average. 

Rent  and  Housing:  Half  the  families  paid  less 
than  $15  a  month  for  rent  and  half  paid  $15  or 
more.  Both  the  Chapin  and  More  studies,  as  well 
as  that  made  by  Professor  StreightofT1  for  the  New 
York  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  fixed  #14 
a  month  in  New  York  City  as  the  allowance  for  rent 
in  their  estimates  of  the  budget  giving  the  minimum 
requirements  for  living  for  a  family  of  five.  Fifteen 
of  these  Italian  families,  or  nearly  a  third,  were 
paying  less  than  this,  and  as  only  four  of  them 
had  less  than  five  persons  living  in  the  household, 
it  is  apparent  that  for  nearly  a  fourth  of  the  fami- 
lies the  amount  spent  for  rent  was  below  that 
which  has  been  set  as  a  minimum,  low  as  that 
seems.  In  the  larger  group  of  Italian  families 
covered  in  the  entire  investigation,  practically  the 
same  proportion,  152  out  of  502,  or  30.2  per  cent, 

1  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission.  Fourth 
Report,  1915.     Vol.  IV,  Reporl  on  the  Cost  of  Living,  p.  1,660. 


I'M 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

paid  less  than  $14  a  month.1  The  average  propor- 
tion of  the  income  going  for  rent,  14  per  cent, 
was  also  below  that  of  the  standards  set  in  the 
three  studies  mentioned  above  for  less  homoge- 
neous groups.  The  rents  paid  ranged  from  $9.00 
a  month  for  two  rooms  for  a  family  of  four  to  $25 
for  seven  rooms  for  a  family  of  12.  The  monthly 
rent  per  room  for  most  of  the  families  was  from 
$3.50  to  $4.50.  In  the  Streightoff  study  it  is  stated 
that  $6.00  per  room  is  the  lowest  rate  at  which  a 
new  law  tenement  in  New  York  City  can  be  rented 
commercially.2  Several  of  the  Italian  familiesearned 
a  part  or  all  of  their  rent  by  giving  janitor's  service. 
In  tabulating,  this  has  been  counted  at  the  current 
rental  value  of  the  flat  occupied. 

All  of  the  families  lived  in  tenements,  varying 
from  the  "new  law"  to  the  railroad  and  dumb-bell 
types,  or  in  some  of  the  old  three-story  houses, 
relics  of  Greenwich's  days  of  glory,  but  since  fallen 
from  their  high  estate  and  now  remodeled  into 
flats.  The  colonial  doorways  and  marble  mantel- 
pieces were  still  to  be  seen  here,  though  dingy  and 
dilapidated  in  their  incongruous  surroundings. 
This  variety  in  building  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
district  is  an  old  one,  the  old  dwelling  houses  not 
yet  fully  transformed  to  its  present  character.  It 
remains  a  museum  of  the  different  stages  of  build- 
ing operations  in  the  city.  One  of  those  remodeled 
houses  was  owned,  as  has  been  said,  by  a  family 

1  See  Appendix  C,  Table  8,  p.  333. 

2  Opus  cit.,  p.  1,656. 

195 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

included  in  the  investigation.  They  themselves 
occupied  the  first  floor,  renting  the  two  upper  floors 
and  basement  to  other  tenants. 

Forty-one  of  the  48  families  lived  in  apartments 
of  three  or  four  rooms.  Thirty-three  households 
showed  actual  congestion  (i.  e.,  more  than  one  and 
one-half  persons  per  room).  Of  these,  19  had  from 
two  to  three  persons  per  room,  two  had  three  to 
four  per  room,  and  two  had  as  many  as  four  persons 
per  room.  A  bootblack's  family  with  12  members 
lived  in  a  three-room  flat  the  rental  value  of  which 
was  $14  a  month,  but  which  they  had  rent  free  be- 
cause Rosina,  the  wife,  acted  as  janitress  for  the 
building.  The  bedroom  back  from  the  kitchen  had 
no  window,  the  kitchen  was  almost  totally  dark, 
and  the  third  room  was  gloomy  enough  to  necessi- 
tate frequent  burning  of  gas,  and  hence  a  large  gas 
bill  at  the  end  of  the  month.  Of  necessity  all  three 
rooms,  including  the  kitchen,  were  used  for  sleep- 
ing, though  some  semblance  of  a  "parlor"  was 
maintained  in  the  front  room  by  having  a  large 
couch  and  a  folding  bed  instead  of  the  regulation 
bedstead,  and  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  bric-a- 
brac  for  decoration.  Despite  the  fact  that  in  addi- 
tion to  her  own  housework  and  her  duties  as  jani- 
tress the  mother  had  the  care  of  two  babies,  a  year 
and  a  half  and  six  months  old  respectively,  she 
managed  to  do  home  work  on  roses  and  to  keep  her 
rooms  very  neat  and  clean. 

Another  family  of  12,  but  one  with  less  care  for 
the  decencies  of  life,  lived  in  three  ill-kept,  scantily 

196 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

furnished  rooms  for  which  they  paid  $13  a  month. 
These  were  the  two  most  extreme  cases  of  con- 
gestion, but  conditions  nearly  as  bad  existed  in  a 
number  of  other  households,  and  the  family  of  four 
who  had  four  rooms  and  paid  $16  for  them  was 
unique  in  the  group. 

At  all  events,  many  of  the  apartments  were  dark, 
ill-ventilated,  and  far  from  clean.  None  had  a 
dining  room,  nor  any  room  besides  the  kitchen  not 
used  for  sleeping.  In  some  cases  even  this  was 
converted  at  night  into  a  bedroom.  Sanitary  ar- 
rangements were  also  poor.  Only  10  had  the  ex- 
clusive use  of  a  toilet  in  their  own  flat,  while  30 
shared  the  use  of  one  in  the  hall  with  two  or  more 
other  families,  and  eight  lived  in  buildings  in  which 
the  toilet  was  located  in  the  yard.  Only  three 
families  had  the  luxury  of  a  bathroom. 

The  living  quarters  as  a  whole  were  distinctly 
below  the  American  standard  of  a  parlor,  a  dining 
room,  and  a  kitchen  distinct  from  the  sleeping 
rooms.  The  consequent  congestion  and  the  lack 
of  sanitary  arrangements  mark  a  generally  low 
standard  of  housing,  but  one  unfortunately  not 
unique  among  Italian  tenement  dwellers. 

Food:  The  outlay  for  food  is  by  far  the  largest 
single  item  in  the  list  of  things  necessary  to  the  fam- 
ily's well-being.  It  has  been  claimed  by  various  stu- 
dents of  the  cost  of  living  that  Italians  spend  more 
for  food  than  people  of  other  nationalities.  Though 
nearly  half  of  the  income  of  these  Italian  families 
went  for  food,  this  proportion  is  no  greater  than 

'97 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

that  noted  in  two  other  recent  studies  of  working 
class  budgets.1  The  weekly  expenditure  for  food 
for  the  group  ranged  from  $4.69  for  a  family  of 
five  to  $22  for  a  family  of  1  3.  According  to  the 
accepted  system  of  computing  dietary  require- 
ments by  man  units,  the  cost  of  food  per  man  unit 
was  set  by  Streightoff  at  $1.89  a  week  in  19 14. 
Sixteen  of  our  Italian  families  fell  below  this  stan- 
dard in  their  outlay  for  food,  while  the  other  32 
exceeded  it.  The  average  for  the  group  was  $2.10. 
The  general  impression  gained  from  a  study  of 
the  weekly  food  purchases  in  these  families  is  that 
they  are  more  generous  in  providing  food  for  them- 
selves than  for  any  other  need  of  life.  Bread  and 
milk  are  bought  and  consumed  in  large  quantities. 
The  typically  Italian  spaghetti  and  "pasta"  are 
popular,  but  meat  and  fish  also  form  an  important 
and  regular  part  of  the  dietary.  Most  of  the  fami- 
lies, probably  because  of  the  limited  means  at  their 
disposal,  buy  their  food  in  small  quantities  day  by 
day,  a  method  not  conducive  to  economy  or  good 
management.  Some  paid  cash  for  all  purchases, 
while  a  number  ran  weekly  or  monthly  bills  for 
food.  In  times  of  dearth  they  were  all  glad  "to 
take  out  a  trust  with  the  grocery  man."  And  at 
such  times  fear  of  exceeding  their  credit  would  lead 
to  a  reduction  of  the  amount  of  food  consumed, 

1  Streightoff,  Frank  H.     Opus  cit. 

New  York  City  Bureau  of  Standards.  Report  on  Cost  of  Liv- 
ing for  an  Unskilled  Laborer's  Family  in  New  York  City  (submitted 
to  committee  on  salaries  and  grades  of  Board  of  Estimate  and  Ap- 
portionment).     191? 

I98 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

sometimes  to  the  detriment  of  health.  As  one  girl 
said,  "  If  there  is  no  money,  we  eat  less."  It  is  in 
the  stomach  often  that  the  pinch  is  first  felt. 

Most  of  the  workers  buy  at  least  some  part  of 
their  lunch,  while  a  small  number  bring  part  or 
all  of  it  from  home.  In  23  families  workers  lived 
near  enough  to  their  places  of  employment  to  go 
home  at  noon.  The  expenditure  for  lunches  where 
there  was  any,  however,  was  small,  usually  10  to 
20  cents  a  day.  This  amount  has  been  included  in 
the  total  cost  of  food  for  the  year. 

Fuel  and  Light:  The  average  expenditure  for  fuel 
and  light  formed  4  per  cent  of  the  total  income,  at 
least  1  per  cent  less  than  the  estimates  of  Streightoff 
and  the  Board  of  Estimates  committee.  The  fuel 
used  for  heating  was  for  the  most  part  coal,  and  this 
was  usually  bought  in  the  expensive  way— a  bushel 
at  a  time.  A  few  families  bought  it  by  the  ton,  but 
the  great  majority  had  no  place  to  store  so  large  a 
quantity.  They  also  feared  that  if  the  coal  were 
to  be  left  in  the  cellar  it  might  be  stolen.  Gas  was 
used  for  lighting  and  cooking,  while  kerosene  was 
occasionally  used  for  both  light  and  heat.  A  num- 
ber of  families  also  used  wood  for  cooking  or  heat- 
ing, but  few  actually  bought  it.  The  wood  used 
was  whatever  could  be  picked  up  by  the  younger 
children. 

Only  three  of  the  families  had  a  stove  in  their 
front  rooms,  and  many  of  the  apartments  were 
poorly  heated.  One  woman  in  speaking  of  a  recent 
illness  said:    "When  I  was  sick  last  week  I  stood 

199 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

home  and  it  was  awful  cold.  1  like  to  go  to  work. 
It's  warmer  there  than  at  home." 

The  dark  rooms  also  necessitated  considerable 
use  of  artificial  light  and  consequently  high  bills 
for  gas,  oil,  or  anything  else  used  for  the  purpose. 

Insurance:  Nineteen  of  the  families  did  not  have 
any  member  insured.  For  some  unaccountable 
reason  more  of  the  low-income  families  carried  life 
insurance  than  did  those  with  the  higher  incomes, 
and  the  size  of  the  policy  or  premium  also  had  no 
apparent  relation  to  the  size  of  the  income.  The 
reason  given  by  most  of  the  uninsured  families  for 
not  being  insured  was  the  all-sufficient  one  that 
they  "did  not  believe  in  it."  One  young  girl  said 
that  they  were  not  carrying  insurance  because  her 
mother  thought  "it  looks  like  we  were  all  going  to 
die."  Another  objected  to  "having  them  men  run- 
ning here  every  week  like  we  owed  money  to  some- 
body." 

The  policies  carried  were  of  the  usual  industrial 
kind  requiring  weekly  payments  of  5,  10  or  15 
cents.  Occasionally  only  one  member  was  insured, 
but  most  of  the  insured  families  had  policies  for  all 
the  children  and  the  grown-ups  as  well,  so  that  the 
weekly  premiums  often  amounted  to  over  a  dollar. 
Annual  premiums  ranged  from  $2.60  to  $115.96. 
A  few  larger  policies  were  carried,  as  for  instance, 
the  thousand-dollar  one  that  was  paid  during  the 
year  at  the  death  of  a  young  man  from  tuberculosis. 
The  small  policies  were  taken  out  usually  with  a 
view  to  covering  the  expenses  of  the  elaborate  fun- 

200 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

eral  which  is  a  part  of  the  I  talian  standard  of  living. 
Often  the  entire  amount  went  for  this  purpose  and 
there  was  little  left  to  cover  the  accumulated  debts 
of  the  illness  which  preceded  death.  In  one  family 
every  child  was  insured  at  a  premium  of  1 5  cents 
apiece  a  week,  or  $  1 .05  for  the  seven  boys  and  girls. 
The  policies  had  been  taken  out  after  the  mother's 
experience  in  losing  a  nine-month-old  baby  whose 
life  was  not  insured.  "  1  had  to  pay  $95  for  the 
funeral;  with  the  drinks  it  came  to  $1 1 5.  It  took 
us  some  time  to  pay  it  up.  I  thought  it  was  bad 
enough  to  lose  the  child  without  having  to  do 
without  insurance  money,  so  since  then  I  have  had 
insurance." 

In  30  families,  members,  usually  the  father,  be- 
longed to  benefit  societies  for  relief  in  time  of  sick- 
ness. Two  families  had  drawn  benefits  during  the 
year  studied.    Only  nine  carried  fire  insurance. 

Clothing:  Only  one  family  kept  an  account  of  the 
expenditures  for  clothing  during  the  year  for  all  its 
members.  This  was  one  whose  income  was  $1,175 
and  whose  standard  of  living  was  high.  The 
amount  spent  during  the  year  to  provide  clothing 
for  the  widow  who  was  head  of  the  family,  for  her 
mother,  a  son  of  sixteen,  a  daughter  of  fourteen, 
and  two  younger  girls  was  $  1 46.6 1 ,  or  12.5  per  cent 
of  the  entire  income.  This  is  approximately  the 
proportion  allowed  for  clothing  in  several  other 
budget  studies.  Indications,  however,  from  the 
clothing  accounts  kept  by  a  number  of  the  girl 
wage-earners,  point  to  a  larger  proportion  for  cloth- 

201 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

ing  in  many  of  the  other  families  for  which  complete 
accounts  were  not  secured.  Louisa  Gambino,  an 
attractive  girl  of  nineteen,  whose  family  had  an  in- 
come of  $1,917,  spent  $149.41  for  her  own  clothes. 
If  her  sister  who  was  only  a  year  younger,  spent  as 
much  and  the  four  remaining  members  of  the  family 
provided  for  themselves  adequately,  considerably 
more  than  a  fourth  of  their  income  would  have  been 
spent  for  this  purpose.  Yet  these  two  girls  made 
many  of  their  own  clothes.  The  account,  however, 
did  include  such  an  extravagance  as  a  "ball  dress" 
at  $21.  Another  individual  account  placed  the 
total  at  $106.32,  while  the  five  others  which  were 
secured  ranged  from  $40  to  $50. 

Only  three  families  did  all  their  own  sewing, 
though  all  but  one  made  some  of  their  clothes  at 
home.  Twenty-seven  families  had  a  part  of  their 
wardrobes  made  by  dressmakers,  or  even  custom 
tailors.  Only  two  bought  no  ready-made  clothes 
at  all.  The  purchases  of  ready-to-wear  clothing 
were  usually  made  in  the  Fourteenth  Street  de- 
partment stores,  or  the  Jewish  shops  on  the  east 
side.  The  dressmakers  and  tailors  patronized  all 
lived  in  the  neighborhood.  Materials,  underwear, 
and  even  ready-made  clothes  were  sometimes 
bought  from  push  carts. 

Other  Expenditures:  Doctor's  bills  were  an  im- 
portant item  in  the  family  budget  of  these  Italians. 
The  scant  margin  to  cover  such  emergencies  as  ill- 
ness did  not  suffice  to  keep  the  family  out  of  debt 
in  cases  of  prolonged  illness.    Moreover,  Italians  do 

21)2 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

not  trust  free  dispensaries  and  are  in  deathly  fear 
of  hospitals.  Hence  they  did  not  avail  themselves 
of  free  medical  care.  One  family  incurred  a  large 
bill  because  the  old  mother  who  was  ill  objected  to 
being  sent  to  a  free  convalescent  home  and  had  to 
be  sent  to  a  paid  one.  The  Italians  are  also  in- 
clined to  call  in  two  or  three  doctors  in  quick  suc- 
cession if  the  first  does  not  effect  an  immediate 
cure.  A  number,  as  has  already  been  indicated, 
did  attempt  to  make  some  provision  for  sickness 
through  membership  in  sick  benefit  societies,  but 
the  members  were  usually  the  fathers,  and  the 
benefits  did  not  cover  the  rest  of  the  family. 

In  this  connection  the  prevalence  of  tubercu- 
losis should  be  noted,  a  fact  commonly  recognized 
regarding  Italians  in  New  York  City.  In  15  fam- 
ilies there  had  been  23  cases  of  tuberculosis  during 
the  preceding  six  years.  The  study  of  these  48 
households  would  seem  to  indicate  that  this  sus- 
ceptibility to  disease  is  induced  not  only  by  under- 
nourishment but  perhaps  even  more  by  over- 
crowding. 

The  expenditures  for  recreation  and  education 
were  small.  The  mother  had  no  recreation  and  the 
father  took  his  alone.  In  some  families,  especially 
those  of  south  Italian  origin,  tradition  was  still  so 
strong  that  the  girls  were  not  permitted  to  go  out 
unless  accompanied  by  the  father  or  mother.  Even 
if  the  parents  did  not  seriously  object  the  girls  were 
afraid  of  neighborhood  gossip  if  they  should  be  seen 
out  alone  after  dark.  As  the  mother  was  usually 
J4  203 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

too  tired  to  accompany  them  and  the  father  did  not 
want  to  "bother,"  it  meant  that  the  girls  were 
practically  prisoners  at  home  during  their  leisure 
hours.  For  those  favored  ones  who  were  allowed 
to  go  out  without  their  parents,  moving-picture 
shows,  the  Fourteenth  Street  Theater,  and  an  oc- 
casional dance  sometimes  at  a  nearby  settlement, 
were  the  chief  means  of  amusement. 

It  was  still  the  custom  in  the  Italian  colony  to 
arrange  weddings  by  conference  between  the  pa- 
rents, though  some  of  the  girls  had  been  indepen- 
dent enough  to  adopt  the  American  method  of 
making  their  own  choice  and  had  even  gone  so  far 
as  to  turn  down  their  fathers'  suggestions.  The 
services  of  "ambassadors"  were  occasionally  made 
use  of  to  suggest  marriage  to  young  men.  The  sug- 
gestion would  then  be  followed  by  a  call  on  the  girl 
by  the  man,  after  which  the  business  negotiations 
might  be  taken  up  by  the  parents.  But  whether 
the  new  or  the  old  method  of  matchmaking  was 
followed,  it  was  considered  essential  for  every  girl 
to  be  married  before  she  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
one. 

The  restraint  exercised  on  the  girls  was  in  dis- 
tinct contrast  to  the  treatment  of  the  sons  of  the 
family.  After  they  reached  working  age  they  were 
free  to  come  and  go  as  they  would  and  to  spend 
their  money  without  question  as  to  the  purposes  to 
which  it  was  put.  They  were  their  own  masters, 
and  in  many  cases  the  rest  of  the  family  did  not 
know  the  details  of  their  lives  either  at  work  or  at 

204 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

play.  The  result  of  this  freedom  was  not  always 
fortunate.  A  number  of  the  young  men  became 
shiftless  ne'er-do-wells,  one  or  two  were  drunkards, 
and  several  of  the  younger  boys  got  themselves  into 
scrapes  with  street  gangs  which  landed  them  in  the 
reformatory  for  a  term. 

Only  one  family  spent  any  part  of  its  income  for 
education  during  the  year.  This  was  a  payment  of 
$40  to  send  a  boy  to  an  electrical  school.  For  the 
most  part  the  standard  of  education  was  low.  It 
was  felt  that  as  soon  as  legally  possible  the  child 
should  go  to  work,  and  many  of  them  had  slipped 
through  with  less  schooling  than  the  present  law 
requires.  One  mother  voiced  the  typical  attitude 
in  regard  to  the  girls'  education  when  she  said, 
"Why  should  she  go  to  high  school,  when  she's 
goin'  to  be  married  anyway?  "  A  few  girls  attended 
public  evening  school.  Many  of  the  families 
bought  and  read  newspapers,  sometimes  Italian 
and  sometimes  English.  This  usually  measured 
the  extent  of  any  reading  done  and  there  were  a 
number  for  whom  reading  was  an  unachieved 
accomplishment. 

The  expense  of  carfare  did  not  play  a  large  part 
in  the  budgets  of  most  of  the  families,  as  the  ma- 
jority of  the  wage-earners  lived  within  walking  dis- 
tance of  their  work  places.  In  fact,  the  proximity  to 
the  factories  and  warehouses  of  the  lower  west  side 
was  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  the  settling  of  these 
families  in  this  district,  and  for  their  reluctance  to 
leave  it  for  sections  where  more  commodious  quar- 

205 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

ters  could  be  obtained  without  much,  if  any, 
greater  cost. 

Church  contributions  did  not  play  a  large  part 
in  the  family  expenditures.  Though  all  were 
Roman  Catholics  the  church  was  not  an  important 
factor  in  their  lives.  The  older  generation  seldom 
went  to  services.  The  attendance  of  the  girls 
seemed  to  compensate  for  the  shortcomings  in  this 
direction  of  the  remainder  of  the  family. 

Unions,  too,  were  not  considered  worth  while  in 
these  families,  and  few  of  their  members  belonged 
to  them.  Only  five  had  union  members  and  they 
were  inclined  to  be  rather  inactive.  This  attitude 
of  indifference  toward  collective  industrial  action 
is  often  said  to  be  typical  of  the  Italian.  He  is  an 
individualist  at  bottom  and  as  long  as  he  gets  along 
well  and  sees  no  reason  to  concern  himself  about 
what  is  happening  to  his  fellow-workers. 

SAVINGS 

With  the  many  drains  on  earnings  and  the  large 
families  to  be  supported,  even  those  who  had  in- 
comes well  above  the  usual  average  for  wage- 
earners'  families  did  not  find  it  easy  to  put  aside 
the  bit  for  a  rainy  day.  Insurance  in  one  form  or 
another  was  perhaps  their  most  regular  method  of 
saving.  A  number  of  the  families  did  manage  to 
put  aside  a  small  amount  from  time  to  time,  some- 
times in  a  savings  bank  and  sometimes  in  that 
time-honored  receptacle  for  family  funds — the 
stocking.     Several  families  found  to  their  distress 

206 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

that  money  accumulated  in  the  bank  only  to  be 
drawn  out  and  used  for  some  matter  of  urgent 
necessity.  For  many  even  such  temporary  savings 
were  out  of  the  question.  Irregularity  and  uncer- 
tainty of  income  complicated  management  until 
both  ends  would  not  meet.  Two  families  with  low 
incomes  had  a  deficit  rather  than  a  margin  beyond 
the  cost  of  food,  shelter,  heat,  light,  and  insurance. 
In  one  case  the  difference  was  made  up  from  sav- 
ings left  to  the  widow  at  the  death  of  her  husband 
five  years  before;  in  the  other  a  relief  society  came 
to  the  rescue.  Eight  other  families  were  recorded 
in  the  files  of  relief  societies,  but  only  five  of  them 
actually  received  assistance  in  money  or  goods. 

REGULARITY  OF  INCOME 

To  the  holder  of  the  household  purse  strings  the 
fact  that  her  average  income  is  $8.75  a  week  or 
$71.46  a  week  (as  the  case  may  be,  according  to 
whether  she  happens  to  be  in  the  family  with  the 
lowest  or  the  highest  income),  is  almost  of  less  sig- 
nificance than  that  this  $8.75  or  $71.46  will  come 
into  her  hands  regularly  every  one  of  the  fifty-two 
weeks  of  the  year.  Unfortunately  in  most  wage- 
earners'  families  the  holder  of  the  purse  strings  is 
not  assured  of  this.  She  very  often  does  not  even 
know  that  the  same  amount,  however  high  or  low, 
will  come  into  her  hands  for  three  or  four  successive 
weeks  of  the  year.  An  evenly  distributed  income 
would  admit  of  a  plan  and  a  regular  apportionment 
of  expenditures,  but  this  is  impossible  under  the 

207 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

existing  irregularity  of  our  industrial  employment. 
None  of  the  48  families  included  in  this  study  had 
an  income  during  the  year  whose  curve,  if  plotted 
week  by  week,  would  present  a  straight  line  or  even 
a  waving  one.  Most  of  their  incomes  were  subject 
to  fluctuations  as  violent  as  those  of  a  war  stock 
market.  The  causes  of  these  zigzaggings  of  the 
family  budget  are  found  mainly  in  the  maladjust- 
ments of  industry — seasonal  industry,  casual  indus- 
try, irregular  industry  of  all  kinds.  Sickness  and 
accident  are  to  blame  for  occasional  irregularities, 
and  shiftlessness,  especially  among  the  young  men, 
for  a  little  more;  but  the  bulk  of  the  responsibility 
rests  on  industry  as  affected  by  the  weather,  freaks 
of  fashion,  and  the  lack  of  thoughtful  manage- 
ment. 

These  facts  have  already  been  noted  in  discuss- 
ing the  individual  wage-earners.  Furthermore, 
weeks  of  unemployment  and  part  time  are  likely  to 
coincide  for  the  different  members  of  the  family. 
Slack  season  for  home  work  is  slack  season  for  the 
industries  to  which  it  contributes.  Nor  are  the  fat 
weeks  fat  enough  to  provide  for  the  lean  ones, 
weeks  sometimes  so  lean  that  they  have  no  sub- 
stance whatsoever.  In  addition,  emergencies  must 
be  met  such  as  illness,  accident,  death.  The  prob- 
lem is  too  complex  a  matter  of  mathematics  for 
the  simple  Italian  housewife.  Those  that  con- 
fronted some  of  these  families  indicate  typical  diffi- 
culties in  adjustment  of  income  for  the  entire 
group. 

208 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

Mrs.  Roma  is  a  Genoese  woman  whose  husband 
had  died  five  years  before,  leaving  her  five  children 
under  twelve  years  of  age  and  savings  of  $3,000. 
By  drawing  heavily  on  these  savings  Mrs.  Roma 
had  been  able  to  support  her  family  by  making 
flowers  at  home  with  the  help  of  her  young  chil- 
dren until  two  became  of  working  age.  At  the  time 
of  this  study  the  oldest  girl  was  sixteen  and  at  work 
during  the  daytime  in  an  artificial  flower  factory. 
At  night  she  helped  her  mother  and  younger  broth- 
ers and  sister  with  home  work.  Toward  the  end 
of  the  year  Mamie,  the  child  next  in  age,  became 
fourteen  and  went  to  work  at  once,  also  in  a  flower 
factory  at  $5.00  a  week.  The  oldest  boy,  aged 
eleven,  during  the  last  three  months  of  the  year 
ran  errands  after  school  for  $1 .00  a  week.  For  the 
major  part  of  that  year,  therefore,  the  family  had 
been  dependent  for  support  on  home  work  and  on 
the  earnings  of  sixteen-year-old  Carolina.  For 
twenty-one  weeks  no  home  work  was  to  be  had  on 
account  of  slack  season.  Carolina  was  on  the  pay- 
roll of  her  shop  the  entire  year,  but  on  account  of 
part  time  over  a  considerable  dull  period  during 
which  she  worked  only  two  to  four  days  a  week,  she 
lost  the  equivalent  of  nearly  six  weeks'  earnings. 
In  addition,  two  days'  pay  for  legal  holidays  and 
three  days'  during  a  shut-down  because  of  a  fire  at 
the  factory,  was  lost.  Her  wage  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year  was  $4.50  a  week,  which  was  raised  to 
$5.00  during  the  course  of  the  year.  For  eight 
weeks  of  rush  season  she  had  been  put  on  piece 

209 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

rates  whereby,  with  overtime  work  until  eight  or 
nine  at  night,  she  was  able  to  make  the  following 
earnings:  $8.20 J 10. 1 5,  $1 1 .95,  $14.87,  $9.57,  $9.27, 
$8.10,  $7.57.  At  the  end  of  the  eight  weeks  she 
was  put  back  on  the  $5.00  a  week  rate.  Diagram 
I  shows  the  fluctuations  of  this  family's  income. 


Amount 
$20 


$15 


$10 


$5 


Week  1 


w 

/ 

f— <s 

jl 

\\ 

nk 

.' 

48  12  16 

Average  Income 
Actual  Income 


24       28       32       36      40       44       48      52 


Diagram  I. — Income  of  an  Italian  Family  for  Fifty-two  Weeks 


The  lowest  income  in  any  week  was  $1.95,  and  the 
highest  was  $19.50  toward  the  end  of  the  year  when 
the  other  children  began  to  contribute.  To  tide 
them  over  the  year  Mrs.  Roma  drew  from  $15  to 
$20  a  month  from  the  savings  left  by  her  husband 
and  an  extra  $5.00  to  $10  more  in  slack  season. 
By  October  of  the  year  of  the  investigation  only 
$200  of  the  $3,000  was  left,  so  that  this  resource 
was  fast  slipping  away. 

2 10 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

The  family  whose  income  is  charted  in  Diagram 
1 1  was  composed  of  only  four  people :  a  pathetic  old 
couple,  a  man  of  seventy,  and  his  wife  aged  sixty- 
eight,  who  tried  feebly  in  spite  of  illness  and  failing 
powers  to  earn  a  little  from  home  work  on  flowers, 
their  daughter,  thirty-three  years  old,  an  artificial 
flower  maker  and  the  mainstay  of  the  family,  and 
their  son,  twenty-nine  years  old,  a  habitual  drunk- 


Week  i 


4  8  12  16 
-  Average  Income 
—  Actual  Income 


24 


32       36      40       44       48      52 


Diagram  II. — Income  of  an  Italian  Family  for  Fifty-two  Weeks 


ard,  whose  earnings  as  a  salesman  could  not  be 
relied  on  as  a  regular  family  resource.  The  income 
ranged  from  $2.25  in  one  week  to  $31  in  another  in 
which  a  relief  society  gave  $20  in  order  that  Rose, 
the  overtaxed  daughter,  might  have  a  week's  much 
needed  rest.  On  another  occasion  during  Rose's 
slack  season  the  same  society  paid  the  rent.  The 
son's  earnings  of  $10  a  week  were  regular  enough, 

21 1 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

but  he  paid  only  half  into  the  family  treasury,  and 
as  most  of  the  rest  of  his  money  was  squandered  on 
drink,  he  often  asked  his  sister  for  reimbursements 
for  his  needs.  During  the  year  Rose  had  nine 
weeks  of  total  unemployment.  During  the  weeks 
in  which  she  worked,  there  was  much  part  time  and 
consequent  irregularity  in  her  earnings  which  never 
exceeded  $9.00  a  week  and  were  sometimes  as  low 
as  $2.25  and  $3.00.  For  twenty-one  weeks  the  old 
people  had  no  home  work  and  their  earnings  in  the 
other  thirty-one  weeks  ranged  from  60  cents  to 
$4.28.  To  make  this  they  got  up  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning  and  sat  bending  over  their  work  all 
day  and  sometimes  until  late  at  night.  "They  sit 
there  and  work  when  I  leave  in  the  morning,"  said 
Rose,  "and  they  are  still  there  when  I  come  home, 
as  if  they  hadn't  moved  all  day."  An  income  of 
such  uncertainty  and  such  meager  dimensions  did 
not  afford  a  surplus  to  cover  the  emergency  de- 
mands of  illness  which  had  to  be  met  during  the 
year,  and  a  burden  of  debt  for  the  necessities  of 
life  accumulated,  to  the  great  distress  of  the  aged 
parents  and  their  daughter. 

The  family  in  Diagram  III  had  an  income  of 
$907.34  with  which  to  support  a  family  of  twelve. 
The  father,  a  peddler  of  cheese,  whose  earnings 
were  casual  and  spasmodic,  preferred  bullying 
every  cent  of  their  wages  from  his  two  young 
daughters,  who  were  the  chief  support  of  the  fam- 
ily, to  going  out  himself  in  disagreeable  weather 
to  sell  his  wares.     During  twenty-eight  weeks  of 

212 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

the  year  he  had  made  nothing,  and  his  total  earn- 
ings were  somewhat  less  than  a  fifth  of  the  entire 
income.  The  two  girls,  sixteen  and  eighteen  years 
old,  worked  in  a  factory  where  negligees  were  made, 
and  their  piece-rate  wages  were  subject  to  decided 
seasonal  fluctuations.  In  addition  the  firm  failed 
in  October  of  the  year  of  the  investigation,  and 
both  girls,  in  trying  to  find  new  work,  shifted 


Week  i 


Average  Income 
•  Actual  Income 


Diagram  III. 


-Income  of  an  Italian  Family  for  Fifty-two 
Weeks 


around  with  a  few  weeks  in  one  factory  and  then 
in  another  and  another,  and  a  consequent  loss  of 
time  and  wages  between  each  shift.  With  such  a 
group  of  wage-earners  the  vagaries  of  the  income 
as  seen  in  the  graph  are  not  surprising.  The 
income  ranged  from  nothing  for  two  weeks  to  $29 
in  one.  Toward  the  end  of  the  year  the  oldest  boy 
became  fourteen  and  went  to  work,  but  he,  too, 

213 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

shifted  from  one  job  to  another  and  was  sick  in 
addition,  so  that  his  contribution  was  negligible. 
The  mother,  a  woman  of  only  thirty-six,  who  had 
had  15  children,  10  of  whom  were  living  and  three 
of  whom  were  babies  two  years  old  or  less,  was  too 
worn  with  childbirths  and  the  care  of  her  family  to 
undertake  even  home  work.  The  irregularities  of 
their  income  had  infected  the  family  with  a  restless 
spirit  and  every  few  months  they  moved.  In  two 
years  they  had  lived  in  eight  different  places.  They 
never  had  enough  to  cover  weekly  expenses,  and 
the  condition  of  overcrowding  with  12  people  in 
three  rooms  and  five  in  a  bed  was  intolerable. 
This  was  the  family  selected  by  the  investigator  as 
having  the  lowest  standard  of  living  in  the  group, 
and  is  one  of  those  with  the  most  irregular  income. 
In  extreme  contrast  with  these  three  families  is 
one  in  which  a  widow,  a  woman  of  thirty-six  years, 
was  the  head  of  the  family.  This  was  the  family 
which  in  the  opinion  of  the  investigator  had  the 
highest  standard  of  living.  The  widow  was  an 
agent  for  a  philanthropic  society  and  made  a  regu- 
lar monthly  salary  of  $60  throughout  the  year. 
Her  mother,  in  return  for  her  services  as  janitress 
in  the  tenement  in  which  they  lived,  secured  their 
four-room  apartment  rent  free.  This  much  of  the 
income  suffered  no  fluctuation  whatsoever.  The 
sixteen-year-old  son,  the  oldest  child,  lost  sixteen 
weeks  through  unemployment,  but  the  margin  of 
need  in  this  family  was  not  great  enough  for  the 
loss  of  his  wages  to  interfere  seriously  with  the 

214 


FAMILY    BUDGETS 

business  of  making  both  ends  meet.  There  were 
three  other  children,  seven,  twelve,  and  fourteen 
years  old,  and  the  standard  here  was  high  enough 
to  permit  even  the  oldest  to  remain  in  school — in 
fact,  in  high  school.  The  total  income  was  $1,175, 
and  the  range  in  weekly  income  from  $17.66  to 
$25.16.  This  family  was  able  to  meet  the  expenses 
of  the  mother's  illness  and  to  keep  out  of  debt  be- 
cause of  comparative  regularity  of  income. 

To  a  greater  or  less  degree  the  facts  about  the 
first  three  families  are  true  of  the  group  as  a  whole. 
The  fourth  is  exceptional  in  its  regularity.  Four 
families  had  weeks  of  absolutely  no  income,  and 
practically  all  had  an  almost  weekly  variation  in 
the  amount  flowing  into  the  family  coffers.  The 
result  of  this  uncertainty  was  a  hand-to-mouth  ex- 
istence with  consequent  bad  management,  inability 
to  cope  with  the  emergencies  of  life,  hopelessness 
and  depression  that  led  to  shiftlessness,  illness,  and 
even  for  some  whose  income  seemed  above  the 
border  line,  to  all  the  ills  of  poverty. 

In  these  families  of  irregular  income  crowded, 
ill-kept  living  quarters  brought  a  lowered  resist- 
ance to  disease.  Weeks  of  slack  season  and  un- 
employment meant  a  skimping  in  food  and  conse- 
quent undernourishment.  The  rent  could  not  be 
pared  down  and  it  had  to  be  met  regularly  or  the 
game  was  up.  On  the  other  hand,  less  food  was 
an  easier  method  of  economy.  Efforts  to  add 
to  the  income  through  home  work  cut  into  the 
normal  time  for  recreation,  and  lack  of  money  as 

215 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

well  as  Italian  traditions  further  interfered.  Large 
families  might  mean  many  wage-earners  but  they 
also  meant  many  little  mouths  to  feed  before  the 
children  could  rise  to  the  status  of  breadwinners. 
During  the  full  weeks  the  lean  ones  were  forgotten 
and  many  a  time  the  lean  ones  came  without  warn- 
ing. In  so  disorganized  a  state  of  industry,  with 
ignorance  of  the  American  manner  of  living,  and  a 
nature  not  easily  assimilable,  the  Italian  immigrant 
is  not  in  a  position  to  get  the  best  out  of  American 
life. 


216 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  WOMAN  WHO  DOES  NOT  LIVE  AT 
HOME 

IN  MOST  investigations  into  the  cost  and  stan- 
dards of  living  of  women  workers,  emphasis 
has  been  laid  upon  those  who  do  not  live  at 
home  although  they  form  but  a  minority  of  women 
wage-earners.  It  is  easier  to  estimate  the  relation 
between  income  and  cost  of  living  for  this  group  of 
women  who  are  presumably  self-supporting  than 
for  those  who  form  a  part  of  a  family  group.  For 
the  woman  not  living  at  home,  or  "the  woman 
adrift,"1  the  answer  is  much  simplified  for  such 
questions  as  "What  standard  of  living  does  she 
maintain?"  "Is  she  self-supporting  on  her  own 
earnings?"  or  "  Is  she  aided  by  contributions  from 
other  sources  to  enable  her  to  maintain  a  decent 
standard  of  living?" 

COMPOSITION  OF  GROUP 

To  classify  Italian  women  wage-earners,  how- 
ever, according  to  whether  or  not  they  live  at  home 

1  "Women  adrift"  or  "women  practically  without  homes"  are 
terms  used  in  the  government  reports  for  women  who  enjoy  none 
of  the  essentials  of  a  home,  whether  they  are  boarding  or  lodg- 
ing, or  "those  whose  so-called  homes  have  become  only  impeding 
wreckage."  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor.  Report  on  the  Condi- 
tions of  Woman  and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the  United  States,  1910. 
Vol.  V,  p.  10. 

217 


ITALIAN   WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

is  not  an  easy  task.  Even  when  they  live  nominally 
as  boarders  with  distant  relatives  or  friends,  they 
often  regard  themselves  as  part  of  the  household, 
sharing  alike  in  its  prosperity  and  adversity.  It 
was  found  that  about  one  in  eight,  or  147,  of  the 
1,095  Italian  women  included  in  this  investigation 
might  justly  be  classed  as  not  living  at  home. 
But  certainly  few  of  these  were  "adrift,"  inas- 
much as  there  was  often  a  tie  of  relationship  with 
the  family  with  whom  they  lived;  but  in  all  the 
cases  chosen  for  study  definite  arrangements  had 
been  made  for  a  weekly  or  monthly  payment  for 
room  and  board,  so  that  while  the  woman  might 
be  living  on  very  friendly  and  intimate  terms  with 
the  family  she  nevertheless  did  not  share  in  any 
responsibility  for  its  welfare. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  only  40  women  were  staying 
with  friends  or  strangers,  while  107  were  with  kins- 
people.  As  many  of  these  were  recent  immigrants, 
it  was  but  natural  to  find  them  living  with  relatives 
whom  they  had  sought  out  when  they  first  arrived, 
perhaps  the  one  who  had  painted  the  glories  and 
possibilities  of  the  new  country  in  letters  to  her 
family  in  Italy. 

Only  a  little  more  than  a  fifth,  or  32  of  the  147 
women,  had  been  here  as  long  as  five  years,  while 
more  than  a  third  had  come  during  the  preceding 
year.  The  majority  had  come  over  alone,  or  per- 
haps with  a  sister  or  brother  or  friend  to  make  a 
living  for  themselves  or  to  help  their  families  in 
Italy.     They  were  naturally  older  than  the  other 

218 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 

women  included  in  the  study.  Only  24  were  under 
eighteen  years  of  age,  while  49  were  between  eigh- 
teen and  twenty-one  years,  and  74,  or  one-half  of 
all,  were  twenty-one  years  of  age  or  older. 

OCCUPATIONS  AND  EARNINGS 

With  the  exception  of  three  laundry  workers 
and  one  salesgirl,  these  women  were  employed  in 
factory  work.  The  making  of  men's  and  women's 
clothing  claimed  about  half  of  the  number,  while 
17  were  flower  and  feather  makers,  15  were  in 
candy,  and  nine  in  tobacco  factories.  Their  weekly 
wages  ranged  from  $3.00,  which  one  woman  earned 
as  a  finisher  on  dresses,  to  $16,  earned  by  a  draper 
in  a  wholesale  dress  house  and  by  a  finisher  on 
women's  cloaks  and  suits.  Table  31  shows  the  full 
time  weekly  wages  and  actual  earnings  during  one 
week  of  the  women  not  living  at  home. 

This  table  shows  that  even  with  full-time  earn- 
ings every  week  in  the  year  at  the  given  rate,  half 
of  the  women  would  have  had  less  than  $7.00  a 
week  to  spend  for  food,  lodging,  clothing,  and  other 
necessities  of  life.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  figures 
of  full  time  weekly  wages  represent  only  possibili- 
ties. While  it  was  impossible  to  secure  adequate 
information  as  to  yearly  earnings,  especially  as 
many  of  the  women  had  been  in  this  country  less 
than  a  year,  the  actual  earnings  of  the  group  dur- 
ing the  week  preceding  the  visit  of  the  investigator 
throw  some  light  upon  the  amount  of  time  and 
wages  lost.  Only  a  third  of  the  women  had  earned 
J5  219 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

as  much  as  $7.00  during  this  one  week,  as  compared 
with  a  half  who  had  been  listed  at  a  weekly  rate 


TABLE  31. — WEEKLY  WAGES  AND  ACTUAL  EARNINGS 
DURING  WEEK  PRECEDING  INVESTIGATION  OF 
147  ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS  NOT  LIVING  AT 
HOME 


Women 

Wages  and  earnings 

Wages 

Actual 
earnings 

None 

Less  than  $4 

$4  and  less  than  $5 

$5  and  less  than  $6 

$6  and  less  than  $7 

$7  and  less  than  $8 

58  and  less  than  $9 

$9  and  less  than  $10 

$10  and  less  than  $12 

$12  and  less  than  $15 

$15  or  more 

4 
13 
3' 
24 
'4 
1 1 

19 

'5 
9 

7 

16 

15 

8 
30 

24 
'7 
7 
1 1 
8 
5 
5 

Total 

147 

146a 

Median 

$7- 11 

$6.17 

a  Of  the  147  women  not  living  at  home,  one  did  not  state  actual 
earnings. 

of  $7.00  or  more.  Some  were  entirely  out  of  work, 
others  had  worked  only  a  day  or  two.  On  the  other 
hand,  some  of  the  women  had  received  payment 
for  overtime  or  home  work  in  addition  to  their 
regular  weekly  wages.  Yet  only  18  had  earned  as 
much  as  $10  in  comparison  with  31  who  were  paid 
a  weekly  rate  of  this  amount  or  more. 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 
MODE  OF  LIVING 

With  an  average  weekly  wage  of  $6.00  or  $7.00 
to  count  upon  throughout  the  year,  what  standards 
of  living  were  the  women  not  living  at  home  able 
to  maintain?  How  did  these  compare  with  "the 
absolute  essentials  of  decent  self-support"  laid 
down  by  the  Massachusetts  Minimum  Wage  Com- 
mission1 which  include  decent  lodging,  three  meals 
a  day,  suitable  clothing,  and  some  provision  for 
recreation,  self-improvement,  and  care  of  health? 

Practically  all  the  women  were  living  in  tene- 
ments, usually  with  a  private  family.  But  the  ar- 
rangements for  room  and  board  were  almost  as 
varied  as  the  number  of  women.  Some  paid  a 
definite  weekly  or  monthly  amount,  and  in  return 
secured  a  room  or  sleeping  space,  two  or  three 
meals  a  day,  and  washing.  Others  lived  on  a  co- 
operative housekeeping  plan,  sharing  in  the  general 
expenditures  for  rent,  furniture,  light,  fuel,  and 
food,  and  helping  with  the  housework.  Still  others 
rented  a  furnished  room,  alone,  or  with  one  or  two 
other  women,  and  prepared  their  own  meals.  The 
cost  of  the  room  frequently  included  the  privilege 
of  using  the  kitchen  to  prepare  meals  and  do  wash- 
ing. Some  typical  instances  will  illustrate  their 
ways  of  living. 

Tessa,  a  finisher  on  dresses,  who  had  earned 
$9.85  in  the  week  before  the  visitor  talked  with  her, 

1  Massachusetts  Minimum  Wage  Commission:  Statement  and 
Decree  Concerning  the  Wages  of  Women  in  the  Brush  Industry  in 
Massachusetts.     Boston,  1914,  p.  19. 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

was  paying  $9.00  a  month  for  lodging,  board,  and 
washing,  in  a  sixth-floor  tenement  on  Thompson 
Street.  Two  other  women  shared  a  bedroom  with 
her,  but  she  owned  the  folding  bed  on  which  she 
slept.  Her  clothes  were  kept  in  a  trunk  in  a  corner. 
Her  meals  for  one  day  consisted  of  coffee  with  milk, 
bread,  and  butter  for  breakfast;  eggplant  sand- 
wiches from  home  and  10  cents'  worth  of  fruit  and 
cake  for  lunch ;  "  pasta,"  beans,  meat,  and  beer  for 
supper. 

Another  woman,  who  had  earned  $8.50  in  the 
preceding  week  as  a  finisher  on  cloaks  and  suits, 
but  who  had  been  idle  about  five  months  during 
the  year,  rented  an  unfurnished  room  with  the 
privilege  of  gas  and  the  use  of  the  kitchen  stove  for 
$1.50  a  week.  A  folding  bed,  two  trunks,  three 
chairs,  and  a  table  made  of  a  soap  box,  were  the 
principal  articles  of  furniture,  but  the  room  was 
decorated  with  several  shelves  of  gay  dishes.  The 
images  of  18  different  saints  adorned  the  head  of 
the  bed,  bright  pictures  of  the  rulers  of  Italy,  ad- 
vertising calendars  and  panels,  an  alarm  clock, 
and  a  guitar  hung  on  the  wall.  The  care  of  her 
room  was  a  daily  joy  and  her  only  recreation. 
She  prepared  her  own  meals  which  cost  between 
$2.00  and  $3.00  a  week.  She  was  an  economical 
housekeeper,  buying  what  she  could  in  large  quan- 
tities and  selecting  nourishing  food.  On  the  day 
when  the  visitor  called,  her  menu  had  been  as  fol- 
lows:   bread  and  milk  for  breakfast;    two  eggs, 


222 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 

bread,  and  apple  for  lunch ;  and  two  eggs,  "  pasta," 
lettuce,  bread,  and  wine  for  supper. 

Caterina,  twenty-six  years  old,  who  sewed  on 
men's  coats  and  earned  $6.00  a  week,  shared  the 
household  expenses  with  a  brother  and  his  wife. 
As  she  helped  considerably  with  the  housework  her 
share  of  the  rent  was  only  $2.00  a  month,  although 
she  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  being  the  sole  occupant 
of  a  bedroom.  She  bought  her  own  lunch  at  the 
factory  and  shared  the  cost  of  breakfast  and  supper 
with  the  family.  The  expense  was  generally  about 
$2.25  a  week.  Her  meals  for  one  day  consisted  of 
a  breakfast  of  coffee  with  milk  and  bread;  two 
eggs,  bread,  two  apples  at  noon;  and  an  evening 
meal  of  "pasta  in  brodo,"  artichokes,  bread,  beer. 


LIVING  EXPENSES 

Table  32  gives  the  weekly  cost  of  lodging  and 
meals  for  this  group  of  women.1 

TABLE  32.— WEEKLY  COST  OF  LODGING  AND  BOARD 
FOR  ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS  NOT  LIVING  AT 
HOME 


Cost  of  lodging  and  board 

Women 

$1  and  less  than  $2 

$2  and  less  than  $3 

$3  and  less  than  $4 

$4  or  more 

20 

57 

30 

4 

Total 

1  na 

aOf  the  total  147  women  not  living  at  home,  36  did  not  supply 
information  on  living  expenses. 

1  The  cost  of  lunches  is  included,  as  part  of  the  lunch  is  frequently 
brought  from  home. 

223 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

In  this  group  of  women  who  reported  what  they 
paid  for  room  and  board,  whether  it  was  all  paid 
out  in  a  lump  sum  to  a  landlady  or  in  small 
amounts  by  the  woman  who  prepared  her  own 
meals,  over  two-thirds,  or  77,  were  paying  less 
than  $3.00  a  week,  and  only  four  were  spending  as 
much  as  $4.00  a  week.  One  of  these  last  was  a 
flower  maker  who  rented  an  unfurnished  room  and 
cooked  her  own  meals.  She  was  spending  $5.00  to 
$6.00  a  week  out  of  $6.00  or  $7.00  weekly  earnings, 
but  her  "home"  represented  all  she  had  to  live  for. 

This  money  cost,  however,  did  not  always  repre- 
sent the  full  payment.  Frequently  the  woman 
helped  with  the  general  housework  or  sewing,  or 
even  with  the  washing  and  ironing.  In  one  in- 
stance the  energetic  lodger,  when  she  did  her  own 
washing  in  the  kitchen,  "picked  up"  things  around 
the  flat  and  washed  these  too.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  cost  sometimes  covered  all  expenses  for  wash- 
ing and  ironing,  as  well  as  for  bed  and  meals. 

In  some  cases  the  relatives  with  whom  the 
women  were  living  admitted  that  the  cost  did  not 
cover  expenses.  For  instance,  two  sisters,  living 
with  an  aunt  who  provided  them  with  a  sleeping 
space  in  a  flat  already  crowded  and  three  meals  a 
day,  gave  her  only  $1.50  a  week  each  so  that  they 
might  send  money  to  Italy.  A  married  brother  al- 
lowed his  two  sisters  to  occupy  a  folding  bed  in 
the  kitchen  gratis  and  charged  them  only  for  their 
mcak  Si.  so  a  week — "because  they  are  relatives." 
Others  of  the  group  were  similarly  subsidized  by 

224 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 

relatives,  even  friends,  who  undercharged  them  or 
kept  them  without  payment  when  they  were  out  of 
work.  Such  generosity  and  kindness  often  serves 
to  conceal  and  to  relieve  the  hardships  of  women 
who  are  trying  to  be  self-supporting  on  a  wage  that 
is  both  insufficient  and  uncertain.  Even  with 
such  subsidies  many  are  able  to  obtain  only  the 
barest  necessities. 

Rarely  did  a  woman  enjoy  the  luxury  and  pri- 
vacy of  a  room  to  herself.  "Room"  frequently 
meant  sleeping  space,  perhaps  only  in  a  folding  bed 
or  on  a  cot  in  a  room  with  two  or  three  other 
women.  Their  clothes  they  stowed  away  in  a 
chiffonier  shared  with  the  family,  or  in  a  trunk, 
box,  or  valise.  If  their  wardrobes  had  been  more 
extensive  many  would  have  been  hard  put  to  it 
to  find  a  place  for  them. 

The  presence  of  these  boarders  and  lodgers 
means  great  overcrowding  in  the  household,  espe- 
cially at  night,  when  every  bit  of  floor  space  in  the 
small  flats  is  covered  with  a  great  variety  of  sleep- 
ing devices.  Folding  beds  are  dragged  out  from 
corners,  and  imposing  pieces  of  furniture  that  by 
day  appear  to  be  chiffoniers  or  sideboards  become 
beds  for  two  or  three  lodgers  at  night.  Even  the 
kitchen,  which  serves  as  the  common  cooking, 
dining,  and  living  room,  and  in  the  absence  of  a 
bathroom  as  a  washing  place  where  the  various 
members  of  the  household  have  to  perform  their 
morning  ablutions  at  the  sink,  must  do  service  at 
night  as  a  bedroom.    For  50  cents  a  week,  one  wo- 

225 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

man  who  earned  $3.00  a  week  was  entitled  to  share 
a  folding  bed  in  the  kitchen.  Two  sisters  were  each 
paying  50  cents  a  week  for  sleeping  space  in  a  four- 
room  flat,  the  home  of  nine  other  adults.  Another 
woman  was  boarding  with  a  brother's  family  on 
Elizabeth  Street  where  eleven  persons  were  hud- 
dled into  two  rooms.  This  crowding  often  means 
three  or  four  persons  to  a  bed. 

One  of  the  most  serious  phases  of  overcrowding 
is  the  mingling  of  the  sexes.  Not  only  were  men 
and  women  lodgers  found  in  the  same  apartment, 
but  adults  of  both  sexes  actually  slept  in  the  same 
room.  In  one  instance,  two  young  women  of  sev- 
enteen and  twenty-two  years  occupied  a  room  with 
a  man  and  his  wife,  and  in  another  a  young  woman 
and  a  grown  brother  rented  a  room  together.  Such 
congestion  and  indiscriminate  crowding  together  is 
referred  to  by  the  Commission  on  Immigration  in 
Massachusetts1  as  the  cause  of  one  of  the  most 
serious  moral  dangers  which  surround  the  immi- 
grant girl  or  woman. 

The  low  cost  of  room  and  board  is  reflected  like- 
wise in  the  food  which  these  women  receive.  The 
Italian  is  perhaps  slower  than  the  people  of  other 
nationalities  to  make  changes  in  the  diet  to  which 
he  has  been  accustomed  in  his  native  land,  and 
years  after  he  has  reached  this  country  his  meals 
still  consist  chiefly  of  green  vegetables  with  plenty 
of  olive  oil,  "salami"  (salt  meat),  macaroni,  fish, 

'  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Immigration,  1914. 
I  he  Problem  of  Immigration  in  Massachusetts,  p.  (><>  et  (T. 

22<) 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 

and  wine.  When  earnings  are  small  and  boarders 
pay  but  $2.00  or  $3.00  a  week,  the  diet  is  limited 
not  only  in  quality  but  in  quantity.  A  few  of 
the  women  who  were  not  living  at  home  were 
asked  to  describe  their  meals.  Many  of  their 
menus  seemed  totally  inadequate.  Breakfast  usu- 
ally consisted  of  coffee  with  milk  and  bread  or  buns. 
If  eggs  appeared  on  the  menu,  the  girl  usually  ex- 
plained that  it  was  because  she  was  anemic  or 
otherwise  run  down.  After  such  a  light  breakfast 
their  lunches  seemed  all  the  more  meager.  A  sand- 
wich or  two  from  home  and  an  apple  or  piece  of  pie 
or  cake  bought  of  the  peddler  at  the  factory,  made 
up  the  lunch  which  they  ate  at  their  work  tables. 
Supper  was  the  one  substantial  meal  during  the  day, 
at  which  all  the  favorite  Italian  dishes  appeared. 
Meat  and  potatoes  were  not  often  mentioned,  but 
their  places  were  taken  by  fish,  macaroni,  and 
vegetables.  Wine  was  the  substitute  for  the  tea 
and  coffee  of  the  American.  The  Sunday  dinner, 
however,  was  a  more  elaborate  affair.  It  was  a 
poor  family  indeed  that  did  not  scrape  together 
enough  for  a  chicken  or  a  roast  to  add  to  the  daily 
fare  of  macaroni,  vegetables,  and  soups.  The 
menus  on  the  whole,  however,  showed  only  one 
substantial  and  adequate  meal  a  day  for  these 
adult  working  women. 

COST  OF  CLOTHING 

Expenditures  for  clothes,  while  a  necessity,  are 
secondary   in    importance   to   lodging   and   three 

227 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

meals  a  day.  If  earnings  cease  it  is  at  this  point  in 
the  budget  where  retrenchments  are  first  made. 
Moreover,  clothing  is  not  bought  every  day.  A 
new  garment  is  not  as  urgent  a  necessity  as  food 
and  a  place  to  sleep.  On  this  account  the  expend- 
itures for  clothes  showed  a  much  wider  variation 
than  that  for  room  and  meals.  If  a  girl  has  a  job  a 
new  suit  is  forthcoming  for  the  winter;  if  not,  last 
year's  suit  must  do  service  again.  As  none  of  the 
women  had  kept  any  record  of  clothing  expend- 
itures for  the  year,  the  budgets  were  not  complete, 
but  they  showed  the  main  expenses.  Their  great- 
est value,  however,  was  the  information  they  sup- 
plied on  the  grade  and  price  of  clothing  bought. 

At  any  one  time  these  women  had  only  a  very 
limited  supply  of  clothing,  with  few  changes.  A 
new  coat,  a  hat,  or  a  pair  of  shoes,  was  bought  only 
when  the  old  ones  were  worn  out.  They  had 
neither  the  money  to  invest  in  clothes  which  they 
were  not  actually  wearing  nor  any  place  in  which 
to  keep  an  extra  supply. 

Although  many  of  the  girls  could  sew,  most  of 
their  clothes  were  bought  ready-made,  because 
they  had  neither  time  to  sew,  except  late  at  night, 
nor  a  sewing  machine.  A  few  made  underwear, 
plain  shirtwaists,  and  aprons;  others  could  afford 
to  patronize  a  dressmaker  for  a  new  dress  or  a 
tailor  for  a  new  suit,  but  the  majority  relied  upon 
what  they  could  buy  ready-made  in  department 
stores,  in  small  stores  in  the  neighborhood,  or 
even  from  push  carts.     Immigrant  women  usually 

228 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 

bring  large  quantities  of  clothing  with  them  from 
Italy,  representing  sometimes  their  accumulations 
for  a  dowry— heavy  linen  underwear,  thick,  heavily 
lined  waists,  clumsy  shoes,  and  wide,  bright  skirts. 
A  colored  scarf  or  shawl  completes  the  wardrobe. 
But  they  have  scarcely  landed  at  Ellis  Island  be- 
fore they  begin  to  discard  these  Italian  costumes 
for  American  clothing.  Only  some  of  the  older 
women  have  the  courage  to  appear  at  their  fac- 
tories in  the  garments  which  they  brought  from 
Italy.  The  first  year  in  this  country  frequently 
means  much  skimping  and  saving  to  get  new 
clothes,  especially  among  the  younger  women  who 
want  to  look  American. 

In  selecting  their  clothes  the  women  were  usually 
limited,  on  account  of  shortage  of  money,  to  buying 
the  cheapest  and  poorest  quality.  Consequently 
the  clothes  wore  badly  and  had  frequently  to  be 
replaced,  but,  as  one  girl  explained,  they  never  had 
enough  money  saved  to  pay  a  higher  price  for 
clothing  which  might  give  better  service. 

A  few  typical  budgets  of  expenditures  for  cloth- 
ing during  a  year  indicate  both  the  quality  and 
quantity  bought.  As  was  stated  previously,  they 
are  only  rough  estimates  including  all  the  items 
that  the  women  could  remember. 

Anna,  a  woman  of  twenty-two,  who  had  been 
in  this  country  for  three  years,  but  who  was  earning 
only  $6.50  a  week,  had  spent  less  than  $35  on 
clothes  during  the  previous  year.  Her  brother-in- 
law,  a  tailor,  made  the  skirt  without  charge.    She 

229 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

sewed  the  underwear  herself,  and  although  the 
stockings  cost  only  7  cents  a  pair,  she  carefully 
darned  them.  Since  she  had  left  Italy  she  had 
never  worn  a  hat  or  gloves.  The  principal  articles 
were  as  follows: 

Coat • $  5.00 

Suit 7.50 

2  Waists  at  50  cents i.oo 

1  Corset  at  $i  and  2  at  75  cents 2.50 

4  Corset  covers  at  12^  cents .50 

4  Pairs  of  shoes  at  $2 8.00 

2  Underskirts  at  25  cents .50 

3  Yards  material  for  underwear .36 

6  Pairs  of  stockings  at  7  cents .42 

Skirt  material 5.00 

A  flower  maker  thirty  years  of  age,  who  earned 
$6.00  to  $7.00  a  week,  during  the  year  had  spent 
between  $40  and  $50  on  clothes,  chiefly  as  follows: 

Suit $12.00 

Silk  petticoat 5.00 

1  Pair  shoes  at  $2.50,  and  3  pairs  at  $2             .       .  8.50 

1  Hat        ....               3.00 

2  Corsets  at  $2 4.00 

2  Sets  wool  underwear  at  $1.25 2.50 

2  Pairs  drawers  at  25  cents .50 

6  Corset  covers  at  1 5  cents .90 

1  Pair  kid  gloves .79 

1  Set  combs 75 

Mrs.  Cuneo,  a  widow,  had  been  earning  her  own 
living  as  a  finisher  on  men's  clothing  since  she  came 
to  this  country  eight  years  ago.  Although  she 
made  $12  in  the  week  preceding  the  interview, 
her  yearly  income,  owing  to  seventeen  weeks  of 
idleness  besides  many  days  of  little  work,  had 
amounted  to  only  $350.  Mrs.  Cuneo  never  wore 
;i   hat,  and  a  cape  served  the  purpose  of  a  coat. 

250 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 


She  did  some  of  her  own  sewing,  and  the  supply  of 
stockings  which  she  had  brought  with  her  from 
Italy  had  not  been  exhausted.  During  the  year  she 
had  likewise  bought  about  $40  worth  of  clothing. 


Cape 

$  3  00 

Silk  shawl  (summer) 

3.00 

1  Skirt  at  $2  and  i  at  $3 

5.00 

4  Shirtwaists  at  $1 

4.00 

3  Pairs  shoes  at  $2,  1  pair  at  S2.10,  1 

pair  at  $2.25 

10.35 

3  Corsets  at  75  cents 

2.25 

Material  for  6  petticoats 

4.50 

4  Undershirts  at  30  cents 

1.20 

4  Pairs  drawers  at  30  cents   . 

1.20 

1 5  Yards  material  for  aprons 

1.50 

6  Corset  covers  at  25  cents   . 

1.50 

1  Umbrella  at  $1  and  1  at  75  cents 

1-75 

A  younger  girl  who  was  earning  about  |io  a 
week  steadily  as  an  operator,  was  more  extrava- 
gant. Her  expenditures  had  amounted  to  about 
$75  in  the  course  of  a  year.  The  budget  shows  a 
leaning  toward  luxuries  in  the  way  of  a  silk  dress 
and  three  hats,  but  the  girl  paid  for  these  indul- 
gences by  sewing  her  own  shirtwaists  and  under- 
wear. The  list  given  below  is  complete,  except 
for  a  few  minor  items  which  she  had  forgotten. 

1  Blue  winter  suit  at  $12  and  1  green  summer  suit  at 

$10.50 $22.50 

1  Princess  dress  at  $5  and  1  silk  dress  at  $10.50       .  15.50 

1  Black  silk  waist  at  $3,  1  white  at  $2,  and  1  at  $2.60  7.60 
5  Yards  waist  material  at  12  cents,  and  6  yards  at  10 

cents 120 

3  Petticoats 2.55 

Material  for  petticoat .50 

1  Corset  at  75  cents  and  1  at  $1 1.75 

1  Corset  cover .25 

Material  for  corset  covers .40 

1  Pair  gloves  at  10  cents,  and  1  pair  at  69  cents       .  .79 

3  Pairs  shoes  at  $2 6.00 

3  Hats  at  $2.49,  $3.50,  and  $2.30        ....  8.29 

231 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

These  budgets  illustrate  the  relation  between 
earnings  and  expenditures  for  clothing.  When 
earnings  were  less  than  $7.00  a  week  the  women 
apparently  were  unable  to  get  more  than  the  barest 
necessities  of  the  cheapest  grade.  Shoes  could  not 
cost  more  than  $2.00  a  pair,  suits  $8.00  or  $10, 
shirtwaists  less  than  $1 .00,  and  only  the  simplest  or 
cheapest  underwear  could  be  had.  Some  women 
were  found  to  be  paying  as  little  as  10  or  12^ 
cents  for  their  corset  covers,  50  cents  for  corsets, 
10  and  15  cents  for  gloves,  20  cents  for  drawers, 
5,  6,  and  7  cents  for  stockings,  $1.50  for  shoes, 
25  cents  for  a  petticoat,  49  cents  for  shirtwaists, 
and  $1.25  for  a  hat.  The  cheap  stockings  were 
not  worth  darning,  sometimes  not  even  worth 
washing.  One  woman  bought  three  dozen  pairs 
of  stockings  at  6  cents  a  pair  in  eight  months. 
Waists  at  49  cents  were  of  such  poor  quality  that 
after  a  week's  wear  in  the  factory,  where  the 
woman  had  to  bend  or  stretch  at  her  work,  they 
had  to  be  mended  and  patched.  Other  women  who 
worked  at  machines  operated  with  pedals,  com- 
plained of  the  hard  wear  on  shoes  and  cheap  stock- 
ings. They  never  had  enough  money  left,  after 
room  and  board  were  paid  for,  to  buy  any  but  the 
cheapest  grade.  Even  if  sometimes  they  might 
have  been  able  to  afford  a  better  grade  they  had 
become  accustomed  to  the  low  standard.  "Hand- 
to-mouth"  buying  makes  for  a  high  cost  of  clothing, 
but  cannot  be  avoided  by  its  victims. 

Because  their  earnings  are  small  and  every  week 
232 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 

brings  new  needs  which  must  be  provided,  the 
instalment  plan  appealed  to  some  of  the  women. 
For  instance,  one  young  woman  with  a  wage  of 
but  $6.00  a  week  was  buying  a  $22  suit  on  this 
plan.  Another  who  could  count  on  an  income  of 
$8.50  a  week,  spent  about  $100  a  year  on  clothing, 
buying  on  the  instalment  plan  a  $15  coat,  an  $18 
suit,  50  yards  of  muslin  for  $7.00,  a  gold  locket  and 
chain,  and  earrings.  The  great  difficulty  is  that 
the  price  of  articles  bought  on  this  plan  is  higher 
than  their  value,  and  they  are  scarcely  paid  for 
in  full  before  they  are  worn  out  or  a  new  season 
brings  new  needs.  There  is  also  a  strong  tempta- 
tion to  buy  a  larger  quantity  and  more  expensive 
clothing  than  the  actual  income  warrants. 

To  solve  the  clothes  problem  many  of  these 
women  have  to  steer  between  the  dangers  of  Scylla 
and  Charybdis.  If  they  buy  only  what  they  can 
pay  for  with  ready  money,  without  going  into  debt, 
they  must  get  the  cheapest  qualities  which  give 
poor  wear.  If  on  the  other  hand  they  appreciate 
the  economy  of  buying  a  better  grade  of  goods, 
they  must  pay  the  high  prices  of  the  instalment 
plan  and  incur  a  debt  to  be  paid  out  of  future 
wages. 

HEALTH 

Expenditures  for  the  care  of  their  health  were 
by  no  means  negligible  factors  in  their  budgets. 
The  majority  were  strong,  robust  girls  who  had 
come  recently  from  the  farms  of  Italy.  Yet  nearly 
all  had  to  spend  something  in  the  course  of  the 

233 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

year  for  medicines  or  medical  advice.  If  an  illness 
was  serious  enough  for  medical  advice,  they  did  not 
make  use  of  dispensaries  but  would  spend  a  dollar 
for  a  visit  to  a  doctor.  The  cost  of  doctor's  ser- 
vices, prescriptions,  and  tonics  sometimes  ran  up 
to  %  10  or  %  1 5  during  the  year,  even  for  some  in  the 
small  group  of  44  women  who  were  questioned  on 
this  matter.  For  instance,  one  woman  had  spent 
$10;  another,  $18  for  treatment  and  $20  for  den- 
tistry; another,  $3.00  on  doctors  and  $5.00  on 
medicines.  Others,  when  they  were  run  down,  did 
not  take  tonics  but  bought  plenty  of  eggs  and 
wine.  The  budgets  show  that  even  in  a  group  of 
healthy  working  women,  an  allowance  of  at  least 
%\o  was  necessary  during  the  year  for  the  care  of 
their  health.  The  need  of  such  care  is  all  the 
greater  when  the  women  live  in  crowded  homes, 
are  undernourished,  and  cannot  take  proper  care 
of  themselves.  Their  rooms  are  seldom  heated  in 
winter,  and  their  clothing,  of  the  poorest  quality, 
is  not  warm. 

One  case  illustrates  the  price  in  poor  health  that 
a  woman  may  pay  for  meager  living  conditions. 
Rosa,  a  flower  maker  who  was  earning  $6.00  to 
$7.00  a  week,  rented  a  room  which  she  furnished 
herself.  In  the  winter  the  gas,  her  means  of  heat, 
froze.  As  a  result  of  the  exposure  she  was  sick  in 
bed  for  three  weeks  with  a  "fever  and  a  cough." 
She  was  too  ill  even  to  make  "a  cup  of  coffee,"  and 
the  only  care  she  received  was  from  a  married  sister 
who  lived  nearby.    This  sister  brought  Rosa  food 

234 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 

when  she  had  time,  but  she  had  three  small  children 
to  care  for.  When  Rosa  felt  strong  enough  to  get 
up  she  went  to  work  every  other  day,  as  much  for 
the  warmth  in  the  factory  as  for  the  need  of  the 
money. 

The  cost  of  recreation  is  easily  summed  up. 
When  the  women  and  girls  were  visited  at  night, 
they  were  more  likely  to  be  found  at  home  busy  at 
the  wash  tub  or  ironing  board  than  out  at  a  dance 
or  the  theater.  When  they  did  seek  recreation  it 
was  usually  at  a  moving-picture  show  in  the 
neighborhood.  Some  made  a  practice  of  going 
every  week;  others  had  gone  only  three  or  four 
times  during  the  year.  One  woman,  when  the 
visitor  asked  if  she  went  to  these  shows,  exclaimed : 
"  I  never  have  enough  money  to  eat,  and  you  want 
me  to  go  to  moving  pictures?  I  don't  know  where 
money  goes  to.  We  have  no  luck  with  it.  You  be- 
lieve me,  we  have  not  one  penny  in  the  house. 
Now  it's  this,  now  it's  that." 

Occasionally  the  younger  girls  are  taken  to  an 
Italian  ball,  the  memories  and  talk  of  which  will 
last  them  for  months.  A  25-cent  seat  in  a  theater 
or  at  the  Italian  opera  almost  completes  the  list 
of  their  pleasures.  As  Italian  traditions  do  not 
sanction  their  going  out  unprotected  they  stay  at 
home  night  after  night  helping  with  the  housework 
or  gossiping  with  neighbors. 

On  Sundays  they  go  to  church,  and  spend  the 
afternoons  in  taking  a  walk  or  visiting  friends. 
Their  lives  seem  dull,  with  few  other  interests  than 


[6 


233 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

a  steady  round  of  work.  There  is  little  to  relieve 
the  monotony  of  endless  repetition  and  the  deaden- 
ing effects  of  work  day  after  day  in  the  factories. 

As  many  of  the  women  who  were  not  living  at 
home  were  employed  in  the  clothing  trades  which 
had  just  passed  through  a  period  of  organization, 
a  comparatively  large  proportion  of  the  group  were 
union  members.  About  a  fifth,  or  29  out  of  the 
147  women,  were  paying  membership  dues  amount- 
ing usually  to  about  15  cents  a  week.  In  addition, 
most  of  the  women  had  joined  the  unions  during 
the  year,  and  their  budgets  contained  items  for 
initiation  fees  varying  in  amount  from  $3.40  to 
$27.40.  In  most  cases,  however,  joining  the  union 
had  meant  an  increase  in  wages,  so  that  the  dues 
and  fees  had  been  paid  willingly. 

In  some  cases  carfare  to  and  from  work,  church 
contributions,  an  occasional  visit  to  the  moving 
pictures,  a  trip  to  Coney  Island  or  South  Beach,  a 
ball,  a  daily  newspaper,  or  a  Christmas  gift  for  a 
relative  or  friend,  add  to  the  lesser  budget  items. 

DEPENDENTS 

Expenditures  for  their  own  maintenance,  recrea- 
tion, and  comfort,  however,  do  not  constitute  the 
only  demand  upon  weekly  earnings.  The  fact  that 
a  woman  is  not  living  at  home  does  not  mean  that 
she  has  no  other  responsibilities  than  her  own  sup- 
port. For  instance,  in  the  government  investiga- 
tion of  living  conditions  of  women  wage-earners  in 
19 10,  it  was  found  that  in  New  York  City  a  third 

236 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 

of  the  women  factory  workers  who  were  living  out- 
side their  families,  besides  supporting  themselves, 
were  contributing  to  the  support  of  relatives.1  The 
burden  is  often  still  heavier  f6r  immigrant  women. 
The  records  of  the  International  Institute  of  the 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association  which,  as 
has  been  stated,  undertakes  to  follow  up  immigrant 
women  who  arrive  alone,  showed  that  among  894 
Italian  women  and  girls  arriving  alone  from  Italy 
in  the  year  July  19 12  to  July  191 3,  48  per  cent  had 
persons  wholly  or  partially  dependent  upon  them.2 
Some  of  the  Italian  women  included  in  this  in- 
vestigation who  were  not  living  at  home,  were 
contributing  regularly  to  the  support  of  relatives 
in  this  country,  but  the  larger  proportion  were 
sending  sums  of  money  to  parents  or  other  rela- 
tives still  in  Italy.  A  cloak  maker  earning  $8.50  a 
week  in  the  busy  season,  was  sending  $5.00  a  month 
to  her  mother.  A  widow  earning  $8.00  a  week  was 
also  sending  $5.00  a  month  for  the  care  of  a  small 
son.  A  young  wife,  whose  husband  was  ill  and  had 
returned  to  Italy,  was  supporting  herself  and  a 
three-year-old  child  on  $6.00  a  week.  In  the  course 
of  a  year  a  girl  earning  $6.00  to  $10  a  week  had 
sent  $75  to  her  parents;  another,  out  of  weekly 
earnings  of  $7.50  had  sent  $47  to  hers,  besides  re- 
turning $15  which  she  had  borrowed  from  a  sister 
for  the  passage  to  the  United  States. 

1  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor.     Report  on  Condition  of  Woman 
and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the  United  States,  1910.     Vol.  V,  p.  144. 
3  See  Appendix  A,  pp.  307-308. 
237 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

Frequently  their  earnings  are  not  sufficient  to 
provide  both  the  means  of  decent  living  and  aid 
for  others.  A  woman  earning  $7.00  a  week  was 
expected  to  send  $8.00  a  month  to  her  parents  in 
Italy.  In  order  to  save  this  amount  she  was  shar- 
ing two  rooms  with  three  other  persons,  paying  a 
fourth  of  the  $9.00  rent  a  month.  She  slept  in  a 
folding  bed  in  the  kitchen,  and  spent  less  than 
$2.00  a  week  on  her  meals.  During  the  year  she 
had  had  to  spend  about  $60  on  clothes,  as  she 
had  brought  practically  nothing  with  her  from 
Italy.  At  the  time  of  the  visit  she  was  going 
without  a  hat  as  she  could  not  afford  one.  She  had 
to  pay  60  cents  a  month  for  union  dues  and  60 
cents  a  week  for  carfare.  Even  without  any  ex- 
penses for  moving-picture  shows  or  other  luxuries, 
it  may  readily  be  seen  that  she  could  not  save  for 
a  long,  slack  season  of  twenty  weeks.  During  the 
four  months  that  she  was  out  of  work  she  had  bor- 
rowed about  $60  in  small  sums  to  meet  her  most 
urgent  needs.  This  case,  given  in  some  detail, 
is  typical  of  other  women,  who  are  maintaining  a 
low  standard  of  living  so  that  they  may  scrape  to- 
gether the  money  which  relatives  are  expecting  in 
Italy. 

SAVINGS 

Even  without  these  extra  burdens  there  is  small 
margin  between  their  earnings  and  the  cost  of  liv- 
ing. Few  indeed  had  any  savings,  either  for  the 
rainy  day  of  unemployment,  illness,  or  other  times 
when  there  was  no  pay  envelope  forthcoming,  or 

238 


WOMEN    LIVING    ALONE 

for  the  future.  One  woman,  earning  irregular 
wages  of  from  $5.00  to  $14  a  week,  was  unable  to 
save  anything  after  paying  $15  a  month  for  room 
and  lodging.  A  flower  maker  earning  $6.00  to  $7.00 
a  week  had  not  been  able  in  eight  years'  time  to 
put  any  money  aside,  although  she  was  now  thirty 
years  old.  Six  dollars  a  week  was  not  enough  to 
allow  any  savings  for  still  another  woman,  although 
her  work  was  steady.  After  paying  $3.00  a  week 
for  room  and  board  and  75  cents  for  lunches,  there 
had  been  little  left  even  for  clothes.  An  outlay  of 
$5.50  in  one  week  for  some  much  needed  clothing 
meant  a  deficit  of  $4.64  which  she  had  to  borrow. 
Her  only  provision  for  the  future  was  a  25-cent 
weekly  payment  on  an  insurance  policy. 

Without  any  savings,  a  period  of  unemployment 
is  an  especially  serious  problem  for  the  woman  who 
is  not  part  of  a  family  group.  Even  with  the  strict- 
est economy  she  must  borrow  for  her  most  urgent 
needs.  As  a  result,  when  work  is  again  secured 
there  is  a  heavy  list  of  charges  against  her  earnings, 
debts  to  be  paid,  clothing  to  be  renewed,  besides 
the  rebuilding  of  a  constitution  which  has  been  un- 
derfed and  neglected.  As  one  woman  complained, 
the  debts  for  one  slack  season  are  scarcely  repaid 
before  the  next  slack  season  is  at  hand. 

The  amount  of  the  wages  and  earnings  of  these 
women  shows  how  impossible  it  was  to  save  or  to 
maintain  a  higher  standard  of  living.  Table  31 1 
shows  that  half  were  paid  a  weekly  rate  of  a  little 

1  See  page~22o. 
239 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

more  than  $7.00  a  week,  and  if  loss  of  time  from 
work  during  the  year  is  taken  into  consideration 
this  rate  would  be  reduced  to  something  over  $6.00 
a  week. 

When  on  these  meager  amounts  they  had  to  sup- 
port others  besides  themselves,  their  case  was  des- 
perate indeed.  The  most  hopeful  aspect  of  the 
whole  situation  for  these  overburdened,  hard-work- 
ing women,  as  well  as  for  the  community,  is  that 
their  living  conditions  seemed  to  bear  a  direct  rela- 
tion to  their  earnings.  It  was  only  the  lower  paid 
who  endured  the  poorer  living  conditions — the  bet- 
ter paid  had  better  homes,  food,  and  clothing. 
Forty-two  out  of  the  77  women  who  were  living  on 
less  than  $3.00  a  week  for  lodging  and  meals 
were  receiving  less  than  $7.00,  while  only  three  of 
the  18  who  lived  on  $3.50  a  week  received  less  than 
$7.00.  Given  a  living  wage,  the  Italian  can  be 
depended  upon  to  maintain  a  standard  of  decent 
living. 


240 


CHAPTER  X 
EDUCATION  AND  TRAINING 

PREPARATION  for  work  includes  not  only 
special  training  for  a  particular  occupation 
but  also  general  education  and  development. 
In  fact  at  the  present  time,  the  school  offers  so 
little  occupational  or  trade  training  that  the  gen- 
eral academic  education  of  a  prospective  wage- 
earner  represents  in  most  cases  the  sum  total  of  his 
preparation  before  he  enters  his  first  work  place. 

While  the  actual  ability  to  read  and  write  is  not 
always  a  requirement  for  the  performance  of  an 
industrial  task,  yet  the  general  education  that  a 
worker  has  received  is  an  index  to  his  strength  as 
a  competitor  in  the  labor  market.  Elementary 
schooling,  attendance  at  high  schools,  special  train- 
ing in  some  trade  supplemented  by  training  and 
study  in  an  evening  school  or  settlement  class — all 
these  contribute  directly  to  his  general  intelligence, 
his  ability  to  understand  his  work  and  its  relation 
to  other  processes,  and  his  capacity  for  further 
development. 

ILLITERACY 

The  education  and  preparation  for  work  of  Ital- 
ian women  have  a  special  significance  because  of 
the  extent  of  illiteracy  among  Italian  immigrants. 

241 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

In  fact  the  rapid  increase  in  the  immigration  from 
Italy,  especially  from  the  southern  districts  and 
Sicily  during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  was  a  con- 
tributing factor  to  the  demand  for  a  literacy  test 
for  prospective  immigrants.  In  191 3-14,  the  last 
year  of  normal  immigration  before  the  war,  the 
proportion  of  illiterates  was  larger  among  southern 
Italians  than  among  any  other  important  nation- 
ality. Illiterates  formed  47.4  per  cent  among  the 
218,676  immigrants  fourteen  years  of  age  or  older 
from  southern  Italy,  as  compared  with  only  6.2  per 
cent  from  northern  Italy.1 

The  admission  of  over  100,000  illiterate  immi- 
grants from  one  country  alone  during  the  course 
of  a  single  year  is  regarded  by  many  as  a  serious 
menace  to  the  national  welfare,  especially  to  that 
of  the  wage-earning  class.  The  problem  of  women 
wage-earners  is  regarded  by  some  as  particularly 
serious,  as  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  was  higher 
for  women  immigrants  than  for  men.  During  the 
year  191 3-14,  56.1  per  cent  of  the  women  coming 
from  southern  Italy  were  illiterate,  as  compared 
with  only  44.7  per  cent  among  the  men.  For  this 
reason  a  study  of  the  education  of  a  group  of  Italian 
women  and  the  extent  to  which  they  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  limited  opportunities  for  educa- 
tion offered  in  this  country  is  especially  important. 

The  group  of  1,095  Italian  women  included  in 
this  investigation  represented  the  adult  and  the 

1  Annual  Report  of  United  States  Commissioner-General  of  Immi- 
gration, for  year  ending  June  30,  1914,  p.  42. 

242 


EDUCATION    AND   TRAINING 

child  immigrant  as  well  as  the  native  born  of  Italian 
stock.  As  the  status  of  education  is  widely  dis- 
similar in  Italy  and  the  United  States,  the  facts 
about  the  schooling  of  the  three  groups  mentioned 
are  hardly  comparable. 


SCHOOLING 

Information  was  secured  as  to  the  amount  of 
schooling  each  had  received.  Table  33  shows  where 
members  of  the  group  had  last  attended  school. 

TABLE     33. — LOCATION    AND    TYPE    OF    DAY    SCHOOL 
LAST  ATTENDED  BY  ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS 


Location  and  type  of  school 

Women 

Number 

Per  cent 

New  York  City 

Public  schools 

Parochial  schools 

Free  privately  supported  schools 

560 

95 
10 

51.1 

8.7 
•9 

Total 

665 

60.7 

United  States,  outside  New  York  City 

Foreign  countries 

no  school  attended 

16 

3'9 
95a 

1-5 

29.1 

8.7 

Grand  total 

1,095 

1 00.0 

aInc!udes  one  taught  by  governess. 

Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  women  had  had  the 
advantage  of  going  to  school  in  New  York  City. 
A  seventh,  or  95  of  those  who  last  attended  school 
in  New  York  City,  had  been  in  parochial  schools. 
On  the  other  hand,  38  per  cent  of  the  entire  group 
had  not  attended  school  in  the  United  States  at  all. 

243 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

Of  these,  29  per  cent  had  gone  to  school  in  Italy, 
or  in  a  few  instances  in  other  countries.  The  most 
significant  fact,  however,  is  that  95,  or  9  per  cent, 
had  never  attended  a  day  school  at  any  time  in 
their  lives.  Almost  one  out  of  every  1 1  had  received 
no  education  as  a  preparation  for  her  work. 

This  group  of  95  women  represents  chiefly  illit- 
erate immigrants.  One,  it  is  true,  had  been  taught 
by  a  governess,  and  six  others  had  tried  to  secure 
a  little  education  by  attending  evening  classes  for 
the  purpose  of  learning  English.  None  of  the  other 
88  had  had  any  sort  of  schooling.  A  closer  analysis 
of  the  group  presents  some  interesting  facts.  Al- 
though more  than  a  third  had  been  in  this  country 
five  years  or  longer,  less  than  one-fifth  (17  in  num- 
ber) could  speak  English.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that 
16  were  under  sixteen  years  of  age  when  they  en- 
tered this  country — 10  were  not  even  fourteen 
years  old — they  had  succeeded  in  evading  the  com- 
pulsory.education  law  of  New  York  State  which  re- 
quired their  attendance  in  school  at  least  until  they 
were  fourteen  years  old  and  until  they  had  reached 
a  certain  grade  in  school. 

Differences  appear  in  the  proportion  of  illiterates 
among  the  immigrants  from  the  various  sections  of 
Italy.  Among  the  92  women  who  were  born  in 
southern  Italy  and  who  came  here  after  they  were 
fourteen  years  old,  32,  or  over  a  third,  had  had  no 
schooling  of  any  kind.  Among  the  Sicilians  the 
proportion  was  still  larger,  40  out  of  72,  or  56  per 
cent.     The  women  from  northern  and  central  Italy, 

244 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

on  the  other  hand,  had  the  much  smaller  propor- 
tion of  9.7  per  cent  (12  out  of  124).  These  results 
are  similar  to  those  obtained  from  the  records  of 
Italian  immigrant  women  visited  by  the  Inter- 
national Institute,  which  showed  that  in  a  group 
of  805  women  31.8  per  cent  were  illiterate,  the 
proportions  ranging  from  7  per  cent  for  northern 
Italians  and  34  per  cent  for  southern  Italians,  to 
45  per  cent  for  Sicilians. 

Those  who  had  attended  school  in  Italy  we  find 
leaving  school  when  they  were  nine  and  ten  years 
old,  or  at  an  age  when  their  school  days  had 
scarcely  begun.  Some  had  shared  the  fate  of  the 
woman  of  fifty-three,  who  had  had  only  six  months 
of  schooling  in  her  life.  When  she  was  a  child,  she 
explained,  they  did  not  have  schools  in  her  coun- 
try (near  Genoa).  The  village  priest  used  to  teach 
the  boys  in  the  mornings  and  the  girls  in  the  after- 
noons, but  "it  was  just  like  nothing.  You  did  not 
learn  anything."  Even  one  girl  of  seventeen  could 
boast  of  only  six  months'  schooling,  as  she  had  had 
to  work  as  a  farm  hand.  Others  had  left  school  be- 
cause it  was  too  far  away  or  they  had  finished  the 
brief  course  provided  in  their  district,  and  their 
parents  could  not  afford  to  send  them  away  to  a 
neighboring  district.  As  a  result,  many  had  at- 
tended only  two  or  three  years  and  their  education 
had  consisted  in  learning  to  read  the  simplest  sen- 
tences and  to  write  their  names. 

Of  course  there  were  exceptions.  For  instance, 
four  sisters  from  Abruzzi  had  all  attended  school 

245 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

until  they  were  fourteen  years  old,  and  had  reached 
the  highest  grade  in  the  convent.  They  considered 
the  Italian  school  superior  to  the  American.  "  When 
a  girl  finishes  school  in  Italy  she  knows  how  to 
write  a  letter,  but  not  here.  And  promotions  come 
only  once  a  year.  The  Americans  are  in  such  a 
hurry  that  they  change  classes  twice  a  year." 

In  another  family,  which  was  reported  as  an  "ig- 
norant Sicilian"  family,  one  daughter  had  gradu- 
ated from  a  high  school  in  Italy  and  was  planning 
to  become  a  teacher  when  the  family  emigrated. 
The  report  reflects  the  confusion  that  often  exists 
in  the  minds  of  native-born  Americans  when  they 
convict  foreigners  of  ignorance  and  low  standards, 
because  they  do  not  speak  English  and  have  differ- 
ent ideas  and  customs. 

Nevertheless,  instances  of  adequate  schooling  in 
Italy  are  rare.  This  is  emphasized  by  facts  about 
the  women's  years  of  attendance  and  age  at  leaving 
school.1  In  a  group  of  223  women  who  reported 
their  age  at  leaving  school  in  Italy,  three-fourths, 
or  169,  had  left  before  the  age  of  fourteen,  some  at 
less  than  ten  years  and  nearly  a  third  at  the  age  of 
twelve.  In  fact  twelve  years  was  the  predominant 
age  at  which  the  girls  had  left  school.  Among  those 
who  had  last  attended  school  in  Italy  276  stated 
the  number  of  years  they  had  been  at  school.  One 
out  of  every  six  had  attended  less  than  three,  and 
half  had  attended  less  than  five  years.  These  pro- 
portions, of  course,  do  not  take  account  of  the  95 

1  See  Appendix  C,  Table  <>,  p.  555 
246 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

immigrant  women  who  had  never  attended  school 
at  all. 

These  statistics  of  schooling  and  meager  educa- 
tion reflect  the  low  standard  of  educational  require- 
ments throughout  Italy.  Compulsory  education 
was  not  established  until  1877  and  even  then,  by 
the  Coppino  Act,  it  was  only  compulsory  between 
the  ages  of  six  and  nine  years,  or  ten  if  the  child 
did  not  pass  the  prescribed  examination.  Schools 
were  not  provided  by  the  state  but  were  to  be 
maintained  by  the  individual  commnni.  Largely 
on  this  account  the  law  was  valueless,  as  in  many 
districts  there  were  neither  school  buildings  nor 
teachers.  In  1901  the  census  authorities  discovered 
that  48  per  cent  of  the  people  ten  years  of  age  or 
older  could  not  read.  This  startling  fact  spurred 
the  government  to  expend  large  sums  of  money  to 
provide  schools,  so  that  by  191 1  the  proportion 
of  illiterates  had  fallen  to  30.8  per  cent.1  The  pro- 
visions for  compulsory  education  were  made  more 
stringent,  and  3,000  evening  and  Sunday  schools 
were  provided  for  illiterate  adults  in  those  districts 
where  illiteracy  was  highest.  Even  with  these 
efforts  on  the  part  of  the  government,  however,  the 
percentage  still  remained  high.  When  the  electoral 
law  of  19 1 2  went  into  effect  providing  for  universal 
suffrage  for  men,  except  those  under  thirty  years 
who  had  neither  performed,  military  service  nor 
learned  to  read  and  write,  it  was  found  that  in 

'Cyclopaedia  of  Education:  Edited  by  Paul  Monroe,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  499  et  ff.    The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1912. 

247 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

some  districts  in  southern  Italy  every  man  was 
disqualified.  This  condition  spurred  the  govern- 
ment to  still  further  efforts,  and  additional  large 
appropriations  were  voted  for  the  building  of 
school  houses  and  for  teachers'  salaries. 

These  inadequate  educational  provisions  account 
for  the  large  number  who  came  to  this  country 
without  ever  having  seen  the  inside  of  a  school 
room.  Some  were  illiterate  because  there  were  no 
schools  which  they  could  attend.  Others  lived 
within  reach  of  schools  but  had  been  kept  at 
home  to  help  with  the  farm  or  housework.  As  one 
girl  said,  "We  could  not  go  because  we  were  poor 
people."  Others  went  for  short  periods  only,  be- 
cause, as  one  woman  explained,  "People  didn't 
bother  then.  If  I  had  been  born  later,  I  would 
have  gone;  but  I  was  born  too  soon  to  get  along 
well."  On  the  other  hand,  instances  are  as  fre- 
quent of  families  that  had  been  quite  able  to  send 
their  children  had  schools  been  provided,  or  had 
the  compulsory  education  laws  been  adequately 
enforced. 

The  Italian  girls  who  had  emigrated  with  their 
families  while  they  were  still  young  enough  to 
attend  school  in  this  country,  and  those  born  here 
of  Italian  stock,  could  boast  of  longer  school  ca- 
reers. Of  the  group  who  had  last  attended  school 
in  this  country  59  per  cent1  had  left  school  at  the 
age  of  fourteen.    The  New  York  State  law  at  the 

1  See  Appendix  C,  Table  9,  p.  3  i  s. 


248 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

time  of  the  investigation1  required  that  all  children 
must  attend  school  until  their  fourteenth  birthday, 
when  they  might  obtain  a  work  certificate  pro- 
vided they  had  attended  school  regularly  not  less 
than  i  30  days  in  the  twelve  months  next  preceding 
this  birthday,  and  had  completed  the  first  six  years 
of  the  elementary  school.  These  provisions  meant 
that  some  were  unable  to  obtain  their  work  certi- 
ficates at  fourteen  and  had  to  continue  in  school 
until  they  were  fifteen  or  sixteen. 

Some,  however,  managed  to  leave  school  before 
the  legal  age.  In  the  group  of  675  women  reporting 
who  had  last  attended  day  school  in  this  country, 
a  sixth,  or  115,  had  managed  to  elude  truant  offi- 
cers and  had  left  school  before  they  were  fourteen. 
Nor  does  this  include  the  immigrants  who  were  not 
yet  fourteen  when  they  landed,  but  who  neverthe- 
less were  never  brought  in  touch  with  the  school 
authorities  of  the  city.  Some  gave  excuses  like 
the  girl  who  was  only  seven  when  she  arrived  here 
from  Naples  with  her  parents.  "Nobody  said  any- 
thing about  it,  so  I  stood  home."  Because  the 
parents  were  ignorant  of  the  law  and  knew  little 
or  nothing  about  the  schools,  their  children  had  not 
learned  how  to  read  or  write.  How  could  they 
know  that  what  was  practically  denied  them  in 
Italy  was  compulsory  in  the  new  country?  Others 
again  knew  the  law,  but  by  dint  of  lying  about 

'The  law  was  amended  in  19 17  to  provide  that  children  under 
fifteen  could  not  leave  school  to  go  to  work  unless  they  had  graduated 
from  elementary  school.  For  children  of  fifteen  the  proviso  was  the 
same  as  it  had  formerly  been  for  children  of  fourteen  and  fifteen. 

249 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

their  children's  age  and  hiding  them  from  truant 
officers,  kept  them  out  of  school  and  at  work  or  to 
help  at  home.  In  order  to  prevent  this  last  possi- 
bility the  immigration  authorities  are  now  expected 
to  supply  the  school  authorities  with  lists  of  immi- 
grant children  when  they  land  so  that  they  may  be 
followed  up  and  brought  into  the  schools.  In  any 
event,  when  children  in  this  country,  whether  im- 
migrant or  native  born,  are  allowed  to  grow  up 
ignorant  and  illiterate  or  to  curtail  schooling  be- 
cause of  truancy  and  lax  enforcement  of  the  school 
law,  any  discussion  of  illiteracy  tests  for  admission 
to  this  country  must  appear  ironical.  If  illiteracy 
among  adults  is  such  a  serious  menace  that  it  justi- 
fies the  exclusion  of  immigrants  on  this  ground,  then 
it  must  be  equally  serious  for  native-born  citizens. 

Even  when  the  children  had  had  the  opportunity 
of  attending  school  in  New  York  City,  their  educa- 
tion had  often  been  meager.  The  grade  which  they 
had  reached  when  they  left  school  is  the  one  avail- 
able test  to  indicate  the  extent  of  their  formal  edu- 
cation. But  this  information  could  be  secured  only 
for  those  who  had  last  attended  the  New  York 
public  schools,  as  the  grades  in  the  parochial 
schools  are  not  standardized.  Table  34  gives  the 
grades  reached  by  the  women  and  girls  who  last 
attended  New  York  public  schools. 

In  this  group  of  560  women  who  had  last  at- 
tended New  York  public  schools,  only  27  had  at- 
tended high  school.  But  not  one  had  stayed  until 
she  had  graduated,  and  the  majority  had  dropped 

250 


EDUCATION    AND   TRAINING 

out  before  the  end  of  the  first  year.    In  addition  to 
those  girls  who  had  attempted  to  get  a  high  school 

TABLE  34. — GRADE  AT  LEAVING  SCHOOL  FOR  ITALIAN 
WOMEN  WORKERS  WHO  LAST  ATTENDED  DAY 
SCHOOL  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


Grade  at  leaving  school 


Women 


Elementary  School 
Below  fifth  grade 
Fifth  grade 
Sixth  grade 
Seventh  grade    . 
Eighth  grade 
Graduate    . 
Special 
Grade  not  reported 


•9 

57 
117 

159 

64 

81 

6 

30 


Total 


533 


High  School 


27 


Grand  total 


560 


education,  81  others  had  graduated  from  the  ele- 
mentary school.  These  108  girls  represented  the 
highwater  mark  of  education  for  the  group.  At  the 
other  extreme  were  193  girls,  or  over  a  third  of 
the  whole  group,  who  had  not  gone  beyond  the 
sixth  grade;  that  is,  had  received  only  the  mini- 
mum schooling  prescribed  by  law  at  that  time  and 
were  just  eligible  for  a  work  certificate. 

Many  causes  combined  to  cut  short  their  school 
careers.  On  the  one  side  are  the  children  who  leave 
school  of  their  own  volition.  They  do  not  care  for 
study,  have  quarreled  with  their  teachers,  or  leave 
for  such  trivial  reasons  as  "My  lady  friend  left," 
"I  was  too  big  for  my  class,"  or"  It  was  time  for  me 
17  251 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

to  leave;  I'd  had  enough  school,"  or  "  I  didn't  like 
school;  I  wasn't  smart  and  it's  no  use  going  if  you 
don't  learn."  Sometimes  they  had  even  been  en- 
couraged by  their  teachers  to  leave  because  they 
were  doing  poor  work.  On  the  other  side  are  those 
who  would  have  remained,  but  were  more  or  less 
forced  by  economic  pressure  or  hard  times  at  home 
to  go  to  work.  Record  after  record  reads,  "  Had  to 
go  to  work,"  "Earnings  needed  at  home."  In  the 
group  of  623  women  who  had  attended  school  in 
this  country  262,  or  42  per  cent,  as  shown  in  Table 
35,  gave  this  reason  for  leaving.   This  table,  giving 


TABLE  35.  —  PRINCIPAL  REASON  FOR  LEAVING 
SCHOOL  OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS  BY  LAST 
SCHOOL  ATTENDED 


Reason  for  leaving  school 

Women  who  last 

attended  day 

school  in 

All 

United 
Statesa 

Italy 

women 

Girls'  earnings  needed  at  home     . 
Girl  wanted  to  work       .... 
Did  not  care  for  school  .... 
Had  graduated  or  finished  school 
To  go  to  trade  or  business  school 
Needed  at  home      .... 
Other  causes  (illness,  to  come  to  United 
States,  and  others)     .... 

262 

55 
167 

47 
12 

4" 
39 

28 

3 
20 

'47 

1  i 

25 
3« 

290 

58 
.87 
'94 
23 
66 

70 

Total      

623 

265 

888b 

u  With  the  exception  of  16,  the  last  day  school  attended  was  in 
New  York  City. 

ljOf  the  1,095  women  investigated,  95  had  never  attended  school, 
two  had  returned  to  school,  and  no  did  not  supply  information  as 
to  reason  for  leaving. 

252 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

the  reasons  for  leaving  school,  includes  also  those 
who  left  school  in  Italy. 

It  is  significant  of  the  brief  school  curriculum  in 
Italy  that  55  per  cent  of  the  girls  who  had  attended 
school  there  gave  as  their  reason  for  leaving  that 
they  had  "finished"  school,  although  half  had  at- 
tended less  than  five  years,  and  two-thirds  had  left 
school  before  their  thirteenth  birthday.  Because 
of  the  early  age  at  which  they  "finish"  the  need  of 
their  earnings  to  the  family  is  less  likely  to  be  a 
cause  of  leaving.  Only  10  per  cent  cited  this  as 
their  reason  for  leaving  school  in  Italy.  In  this 
connection,  of  course,  must  be  taken  into  consider- 
ation the  fact  that  in  many  instances  the  poverty 
of  the  family  and  the  need  of  the  child's  earnings 
had  prevented  her  attending  school  at  all. 

In  this  country,  however,  besides  the  42  per  cent 
who  had  left  because  their  earnings  were  needed, 
an  additional  8.8  per  cent  "wanted  to  work" — 
the  "want"  frequently  reflecting  economic  pres- 
sure. In  contrast  with  conditions  in  Italy,  because 
of  a  longer  school  curriculum  here  only  7.5  per  cent 
stated  as  their  reason  for  leaving  that  they  had 
graduated  from  school. 

Dropping  out  of  school  at  fourteen  is  frequently 
the  path  of  least  resistance.  The  influence  of  neigh- 
borhood standards  must  not  be  ignored.  "Every- 
body goes  to  work  at  fourteen,"  is  often  sufficient 
excuse  for  ending  a  child's  education.  The  regret 
that  the  girls  usually  feel  later  points  to  the  need  of 
an  organized  system  for  a  better  and  closer  contact 

253 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

between  the  child  and  her  school  so  that  she  may 
not  leave  for  such  reasons  as  "A  friend  left,"  "It 
was  time"  or  "  I  was  too  big." 

"Economic  pressure"  means  sometimes  the  per- 
manent hand-to-mouth  existence  of  the  family,  or 
a  temporary  emergency  like  the  illness  or  unem- 
ployment of  a  wage-earner  that  urges  the  youngest 
member  to  try  to  add  to  the  family  income.  An- 
toinette had  had  to  leave  school  when  she  was 
only  nine  years  old,  though  still  in  the  first  grade, 
to  help  her  mother  finish  coats  at  home.  Rose 
Pasquale  left  as  soon  as  she  was  fourteen.  "My 
father  wasn't  working  then;  he  had  stomach  trou- 
ble. It  was  hard  times  at  home."  One  woman 
who  left  parochial  school  when  she  was  only  twelve 
said,  "We  had  hard  times  then.  My  father  was  a 
stone  mason — you  know  how  it  is.  He  didn't  have 
steady  work  and  my  mother  used  to  talk  all  the 
time  about  how  poor  we  were.  So  I  had  my  mind 
on  work  all  the  time.  1  was  thinking  how  I  could 
go  to  work  and  bring  money  home  to  my  mother." 

In  spite  of  the  importance  among  Italian  fami- 
lies of  the  earnings  of  children,  the  proportion 
among  these  girls  who  were  forced  to  leave  school 
is  probably  not  greater  than  among  other  nation- 
alities. In  an  investigation  made  by  the  Committee 
on  Women's  Work,  of  working  girls  in  evening 
schools,  it  was  found  that  half  of  a  group  of  108 
girls  of  various  nationalities  had  left  school  for  this 
reason  alone,  as  compared  with  42  per  cent  in  this 


254 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

group  of  Italians.1  It  indicates  that  the  forces 
which  are  driving  the  children  to  work  in  the 
Italian's  family  are  potent  in  those  of  other  na- 
tionalities as  well.  Insufficient  family  income  and 
irregular  employment  are  not  peculiar  to  the  Ital- 
ian household  but  affect  the  homes  of  other  wage- 
earners  irrespective  of  nationality. 

The  Italian  attitude  toward  women  has  an  im- 
portant bearing  upon  their  education.  It  was  not 
unusual  to  find  families  opposed  to  the  education 
of  girls,  although  they  might  furnish  the  principal 
means  of  support  and  would  be  likely  to  need  prep- 
aration. For  instance,  one  girl  went  to  school  very 
little  in  Italy  because  the  grandmother  with  whom 
she  lived  used  to  say  that  it  was  not  a  good  thing 
for  a  girl  to  get  much  education  as  when  she  mar- 
ried she  would  know  more  than  her  husband.  In- 
deed, an  education  might  prevent  her  getting  mar- 
ried at  all.  When  a  girl  of  eighteen,  who  had  been 
in  this  country  only  a  year,  went  to  evening  school 
to  learn  English,  her  brother  jeered  at  her  until  she 
left.  "Oh,"  he  explained,  "she  is  going  to  get  mar- 
ried. She  doesn't  need  to  know  English."  In  one 
family  a  son,  who  was  in  his  third  year  in  the  archi- 
tectural course  in  a  university  and  was  planning  a 
trip  to  Europe  to  complete  it,  remarked  that  few 
Italian  girls  go  to  college.  "Well,  I  guess  it  is  just 
as  well  they  don't,  for  girls  who  go  to  college  always 

1  Van  Kleeck,  Mary:  Working  Girls  in  Evening  Schools,  p.  109. 
Russell  Sage  Foundation  Publication.  New  York,  Survey  Associates, 
1914. 

255 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

stay  single."  His  sister  was  an  operator  in  a  nearby 
factory,  while  a  brother  was  attending  high  school. 
Another  girl's  mother  had  insisted  upon  her  leaving 
school  although  she  was  promoted  to  the  graduat- 
ing class.  "That  is  how  the  Italians  are,"  com- 
plained Isabel. 

This  attitude  toward  the  education  and  training 
of  women  is  bound  to  have  an  important  bearing 
upon  the  position  of  Italian  women  and  girls  in 
industry.  If  these  women  are  going  to  compete 
in  the  industrial  field  with  women  of  other  nation- 
alities which  have  broader  ideas  about  the  edu- 
cation of  women,  the  Italians  will  either  have  to 
accept  the  less  well  paid  and  less  skilled  work  or 
recognize  the  necessity  for  better  equipment  and 
preparation. 

Instances  were  not  lacking  where  the  children 
had  been  kept  in  school  at  a  great  sacrifice,  and 
where  the  parents  had  been  ambitious  for  them  to 
receive  a  better  education  than  they  themselves 
had  had.  In  one  family  the  mother  complained 
that  she  could  get  no  better  work  than  office  clean- 
ing to  do  because  she  had  never  been  to  school. 
"So  she  wanted  me  to  stay  in  school,"  said  her 
daughter,  "as  long  as  I  could."  The  father  in  an- 
other family  had  never  had  a  chance  to  learn  to 
read  or  write,  but  owned  a  successful  newsstand. 
Realizing  his  own  handicaps,  he  sent  one  boy  to 
high  school,  another  to  business  college,  and  a  girl 
to  a  trade  school,  so  that  they  might  have  the  op- 
portunities he  was  denied  in  his  childhood. 

256 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 
WORK  BEFORE  LEAVING  SCHOOL 

One  phase  peculiar  to  the  Italian  population  in 
this  city  is  the  extent  to  which  children  are  gain- 
fully employed  before  they  leave  school.  Among 
504  children  whose  last  schooling  had  been  in  New 
York  City  and  who  supplied  information  on  this 
point,  256,  or  51  per  cent,  had  done  some  sort  of 
work  before  leaving  school.  Forty-two  per  cent 
had  done  various  kinds  of  home  work — pasting 
flowers,  finishing  coats,  picking  nuts,  pulling  bast- 
ings, or  willowing  feathers.  Some  had  gone  to  work 
after  school,  on  Saturdays,  or  during  summer  va- 
cations in  factories  in  the  neighborhood. 

There  is  a  close  relation  between  the  proportion 
of  retardation  and  the  prevalence  of  home  work. 
Such  work  done  by  a  child  after  school  hours  can- 
not but  interfere  with  his  progress  and  dull  his  zest 
and  interest  in  school.  An  investigation  of  school 
children  in  New  York  City  in  1909  showed  that  36 
per  cent  among  Italians  were  retarded,  as  com- 
pared with  16  per  cent  for  Germans,  29  per  cent 
for  Irish,  and  19  per  cent  for  Americans.  In  fact 
in  this  respect  the  Italians  led  all  other  nationali- 
ties.1 Another  investigation  of  child  workers  on 
artificial  flowers  in  New  York  City  showed  that 
"more  than  half  the  number  were  above  the  nor- 
mal age  for  the  grades  in  which  they  were  en- 
rolled."2   Often  the  child  is  prevented  from  doing 

1  Ayres,  L.  P.:  Laggards  in  Our  Schools,  p.  107.  Russell  Sage 
Foundation  Publication.     New  York,  1909. 

-Van  Kleeck,  Mary:  Artificial  Flower  Makers,  p.  103.  Russell 
Sage  Foundation  Publication.     New  York,  Survey  Associates,  1913. 

257 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  proper  amount  of  home  studying,  or  he  has  to 
do  it  late  at  night  after  several  hours  of  confining 
work.  After  sitting  in  a  school  room  five  hours  a 
day,  the  child  needs  an  opportunity  for  physical 
action  and  play  if  he  is  to  return  to  school  the  next 
morning  with  energy  and  ambition.  The  serious 
interference  that  home  work  causes  to  school  at- 
tendance and  progress  is  one  of  the  most  urgent 
arguments  against  its  continuance.  It  always 
means  child  labor,  and  as  a  result  not  only  retarda- 
tion in  the  child's  school  work  but  retardation  in 
his  career  as  a  wage-earner. 

An  evening  with  the  CiofTari  family  illustrated 
some  of  the  effects  of  home  work  upon  the  victims. 
Philomena  remarked  to  the  investigator  that  she 
had  been  backward  in  school  and  that  when  she 
left  at  the  age  of  fourteen  she  was  in  a  special 
class.  The  father  explained  that  both  she  and 
Flora  were  stupid  and  could  not  learn  anything. 
Whereupon  Philomena  flared  up  and  exclaimed, 
"How  could  1  when  I  had  to  work  all  the  time?" 
The  family  had  "always"  made  flowers  at  home, 
and  each  small  child  was  taught  how  to  slip  and 
paste  hideous  cotton  daisies  and  violets  long  before 
she  learned  the  alphabet.  Even  at  the  time  of  the 
visit,  although  Flora  and  Philomena  were  both 
wage-earners,  the  family  were  still  busy  making 
ornaments.  Flora  in  her  school  career  had  been  a 
problem  for  both  school  nurse  and  visitor. 

The  health  of  both  the  native  and  foreign-born 
women  may  well  have  suffered  from  their  prema- 

258 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

ture  employment  as  children.  While  those  born  in 
foreign  countries  were  spending  their  childhood 
days  as  farm  laborers,  working  from  early  sunrise 
until  sunset  on  farms  in  Sicily,  Basilicata,  or  Pied- 
mont, their  present  fellow-workers  who  were  born 
in  this  country  were  attending  school,  it  is  true, 
but  often  with  a  day's  work  waiting  for  them  after 
school.  Among  the  504  women  who  had  attended 
school  in  New  York  City  and  reported  whether 
they  had  had  to  work  or  not  before  they  left  school, 
2 1 1  or  nearly  a  half  had  been  required  to  do  home 
work  outside  of  school  hours.  Without  any  oppor- 
tunity for  recreation,  going  straight  from  the  desk 
in  a  stuffy  school  room  to  the  monotonous  work  at 
home  in  poorly  lighted,  crowded  rooms,  it  is  little 
wonder  that  many  of  them  had  not  looked  forward 
with  much  eagerness  or  ambition  to  the  time  when 
they  would  become  wage-earners  outside  their 
homes.  Rarely  having  had  the  enjoyment  and  the 
free  movements  of  play  in  the  fresh  air,  essen- 
tial to  the  healthy  development  of  children,  they 
started  on  their  careers  of  wage-earning  without 
any  real  vitality  or  ambition  to  succeed.  By  work- 
ing and  earning  at  such  an  early  age,  they  lost  one 
of  the  best  incentives  to  success — the  anticipation 
and  joy  of  preparing  themselves  for  the  time  when 
they  should  become  workers.  For  the  little  home 
worker,  all  sense  of  novelty  had  been  worn  away 
from  the  idea  of  going  to  work,  and  she  had  had 
only  too  full  an  opportunity  of  realizing  at  how 
little  her  labor  would  be  valued. 

259 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 
SUPPLEMENTARY  EDUCATION 

Some  of  the  girls  had  endeavored  to  supplement 
their  inadequate  education  by  attending  evening 
schools  or  classes  in  settlements.  Others  had  been 
able  to  fit  themselves  better  for  work  by  spending 
a  few  months  or  a  year  in  some  trade  or  business 
school.  More  than  a  third,  or  38  per  cent  of  the 
whole  group,  had  tried  to  supplement  their  educa- 
tion with  such  training  and  study. 

The  trade  school  was  especially  popular.  In 
spite  of  the  idea  that  girls  are  expected  to  marry 
young  and  therefore  need  little  preparation  as 
wage-earners,  as  many  as  82  had  spent  periods 
varying  from  a  week  to  many  months  in  a  trade 
school.  Their  willingness  to  attend  such  schools 
may  be  accounted  for  by  the  opportunity  to  learn 
sewing  and  dressmaking.  In  this  group,  54  had 
attended  the  Manhattan  Trade  School  for  Girls, 
while  others  had  patronized  private  dressmaking 
schools  where  they  had  paid  as  much  as  $20  for  a 
three  months'  course.  They  were  enticed  to  these 
private  schools  by  the  opportunity  offered  of  learn- 
ing the  dressmaking  trade  in  four  months  for  $25. 
One  girl  paid  $13,  but  "there  were  about  50  girls 
to  one  teacher.  It  wouldn't  do,  so  I  got  disgusted 
and  left." 

While  the  Italians  do  not  take  advantage  of  the 
high  schools,  the  records  of  the  Manhattan  Trade 
School  show  the  appeal  that  such  a  school  makes 
to  them.  During  a  seven-month  period  in  19 14, 
Italians  made  up  27  per  cent,  or  142,  of  the  532 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

pupils  admitted.  This  is  a  much  larger  proportion 
of  Italians  than  in  the  school  attendance  of  the 
general  population  where  in  19 10  they  furnished 
only  1 1  per  cent.1  That  the  trade  school  promises 
monetary  advancement  is  not  an  entirely  foreign 
idea  even  to  the  raw  immigrant.  In  some  districts 
in  Italy  where  there  are  no  common  schools,  pri- 
vate classes  and  schools  are  found  where  girls  may 
learn  hand  sewing,  embroidery,  and  other  needle- 
work. 

The  evening  school  had  not  been  a  popular  insti- 
tution among  the  Italian  women.  It  is  true  that 
270,  or  about  a  fourth  of  the  entire  1,095  inter- 
viewed, had  registered  at  an  evening  school  at  some 
time  or  other,  but  the  great  majority  had  attended 
only  a  few  nights  or  weeks.  Their  absence  may 
be  accounted  for  in  two  ways.  When  an  Italian 
girl  or  woman  ventures  out  at  night  to  an  evening 
school  even  a  few  blocks  away  she  must  be  pre- 
pared to  meet  the  criticism  of  the  men  and  women 
of  her  country.  Another  obstacle  is  that  at  the  end 
of  the  day's  work  in  factory  or  store  she  is  too  tired 
to  go.  The  following  are  some  of  the  reasons  which 
the  girls  gave  for  not  attending: 

"Too  tired  evenings  to  think  of  going.  In  even- 
ings have  always  had  to  help  sister  with  the  house- 
work." 

"Have  a  fellow  and  expect  to  be  married  before 
long." 

1  Reports  of  United  States  Immigration  Commission.  Vol.  32. 
The  Children  of  Immigrants  in  Schools.     Vol.  IV,  pp.  610,  618. 

261 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

"Have  to  work  on  flowers  at  night  at  home." 

"Would  like  to  go,  but  evenings  are  too  busy — 
have  to  mend  and  sew  for  sisters." 

"I'm  too  old,  and  I'm  ashamed  to  go.  I  think 
it  is  lovely  to  know  how  to  read  and  write." 

"  I  came  to  work,  not  to  go  to  evening  school." 

"  No  time  after  washing  dishes  and  putting  down 
folding  beds." 

A  brother  said  that  his  two  sisters  would  like 
to  learn  English,  but  "the  school  is  so  far  I  can't 
trust  them  out  alone  at  night.  Only  for  that  they 
could  go.  It  would  be  nice  for  them  to  learn  Eng- 
lish. You  see,  it  is  only  that  the  factory  is  across 
the  street  that  we  can  let  them  work." 

The  fact  that  as  many  as  a  fourth  had  tried  to 
attend  such  classes  in  spite  of  obstacles  is  signifi- 
cant. It  shows  their  ambition,  and  the  realization 
of  the  need  or  the  craving  for  education  and  train- 
ing. 

A  classification  of  the  subjects  that  they  studied 
in  trade  and  business  schools  and  evening  classes 
shows  a  predominance  of  those  for  "home  use." 
A  third,  or  about  1 38  of  the  417  women  attending 
such  classes  had  taken  dressmaking  and  sewing, 
37  millinery,  25  hand  embroidery,  and  1  3  cooking. 
These  subjects  offered  practical  training  for  home 
use  rather  than  any  commercial  value.  English 
had  been  studied  by  109,  and  common  branches  by 
33.  Although  many  had  been  backward  in  school, 
and  others  were  immigrants  who  had  never  been 
to  school  in  this  country  and  could  not  even  speak 

262 


EDUCATION    AND   TRAINING 

English,  nevertheless,  when  they  had  the  ambition 
or  time  to  attend  school  it  was  in  the  more  practi- 
cal subjects  like  sewing  and  dressmaking  that  they 
wanted  training. 

TRAINING  IN  THE  SHOPS 

With  such  meager  preparation  do  the  girls  apply 
for  admission  to  the  ranks  of  industry.  Their 
chance  of  learning  a  skilled  process  in  the  shops 
which  would  mean  advancement  both  in  wages  arid 
in  responsibility  was  very  small.  Few  of  the  271 
firms  visited  that  took  learners  had  any  organized 
system  of  selecting  and  teaching  or  of  advancing 
them.  Some  never  took  learners,  relying  for  their 
supply  upon  other  employers.  One  dress  manu- 
facturer had  formerly  taken  them  at  $6.00  a  week, 
but  as  they  left  when  they  became  useful  he  took 
no  more.  A  men's  clothing  manufacturer  said  he 
did  too  fine  a  grade  of  work  to  bother  with  learners, 
but  shops  with  a  cheap  trade  could  teach  them. 
An  employer  of  300  women  making  children's 
clothing  made  a  similar  statement.  "They  must 
learn  in  shops  doing  a  cheaper  class  of  goods.  We 
pay  for  experienced  workers  and  get  them."  This 
was  the  point  of  view  of  others.  Straw  hat  manu- 
facturers generally  objected  to  learners.  One  said 
as  his  work  was  very  high  grade  he  could  not  afford 
to  have  absolutely  green  hands.  He  took  girls 
who  had  been  in  some  cheaper  place,  preferably, 
however,  only  a  season,  as  longer  practice  at  such 
work  was  apt  to  give  them  careless  habits.     Of 

263 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  271  firms  reporting,  184  took  learners  or  inex- 
perienced workers. 

Among  those  reporting  on  the  minimum  age  at 
which  they  were  willing  to  employ  girls,  63  were 
willing  to  take  workers  under  sixteen,  while  103 
required  them  to  be  at  least  sixteen  years  old. 
Some  refused  young  girls  under  sixteen  because 
they  objected  to  being  hampered  by  legal  restric- 
tions governing  their  employment.  Others  refused 
them  on  account  of  their  immaturity  and  tendency 
to  "fool"  at  work.  Others  again  stated  that  the 
work  in  their  shops  was  too  skilled  or  too  heavy. 
One  employer  who  had  himself  been  compelled  to 
go  to  work  at  fourteen  had  made  it  a  rule  never  to 
employ  anyone  under  sixteen,  while  another  be- 
lieved that  girls  should  attend  school  until  they 
were  sixteen. 

The  proportion  of  children  under  sixteen  years 
of  age  among  the  1,095  women  interviewed  was 
much  larger  than  the  census  returns  of  1910  showed 
for  the  total  female  working  population  in  the  city 
or  for  those  engaged  in  manufacturing.  In  the 
group  of  Italians  studied  here,  1 15,  or  11  per  cent, 
were  still  under  sixteen  years  of  age.  In  19 10  chil- 
dren under  sixteen  formed  only  3  per  cent  of  the 
total  female  population  at  work  in  New  York  City, 
and  only  4  per  cent  of  those  engaged  in  manufac- 
turing.1  The  large  proportion  of  children  at  work 

1  Thirteenth  Census  of  the  United  States,  1910.  Vol.  IV.  Popu- 
lation. Occupation  Statistics,  p.  574.  Of  the  total  586,193  women 
gainfully  employed,  17,161  were  under  sixteen.  Of  the  166,785  en- 
gaged in  manufacturing,  6,770  were  under  sixteen. 

264 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

among  the  Italians  indicates  the  need  of  more  in- 
formation about  their  conditions  of  employment. 
The  number  under  sixteen  varied  in  different 
occupations.  The  largest  proportion  was  found  in 
textile  and  miscellaneous  sewed  goods  where  they 
were  employed  for  such  unskilled  work  as  labeling 
boxes  of  ribbons,  cutting  out  Swiss  embroidery,  or 
tending  shuttles.  Their  employment  was  most  ex- 
tensive in  occupations  where  there  was  simple 
mechanical  hand  work  which  could  be  easily 
learned.  In  candy  making  they  were  usually  found 
carrying  plats,  packing,  or  tying  up  boxes.  In 
dress  and  waist  factories  they  were  floor  or  errand 
girls,  cut  off  threads  or  marked  for  buttons.  In 
underwear  houses  they  did  ribboning  or  trimming. 

SUBDIVISION  OF  LABOR 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  that  stood  out 
in  visits  to  shop  after  shop  and  industry  after  in- 
dustry, was  the  monotony  and  unskilled  nature  of 
most  of  the  processes,  so  that  there  was  obviously 
nothing  to  learn  and  no  chance  for  advancement. 
"Nothing  to  learn,"  or  "It  takes  only  a  few  min- 
utes to  learn"  were  frequent  comments  of  employ- 
ers. When  they  were  asked  whether  it  would  be 
feasible  to  have  the  work  taught  in  a  trade  school, 
they  made  such  replies  as,  "It  would  be  super- 
fluous," "The  process  is  too  simple  to  make  trade 
school  training  wise  or  useful,"  or  "No  training  is 
necessary." 

The  expert  makers  of  corsets,  for  instance,  have 
265 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

been  replaced  by  a  group  of  workers  each  one  of 
whom  does  one  simple,  distinct  process.  "Coats  go 
through  40  odd  processes  in  the  making.  There  is 
no  such  thing  as  a  tailor  in  the  ready-made  busi- 
ness now,"  said  a  manufacturer.  "This  specializa- 
tion has  produced  better  clothing.  A  man  who  does 
the  one  process  all  day  long  is  more  expert  than 
one  who  does  also  50  others." 

In  one  men's  clothing  shop  the  85  women  were 
distributed  over  the  following  list  of  distinct  occu- 
pations: 

Basting  sleeve  buckram 
Basting  sleeve  linings 
Felling,  finishing 
Buttonhole  making 
Pulling  bastings 
Busheling 
Button  sewing 
Canvas  padding 
Machine  operating 
Padding  lapels 
Tacking  canvas  in  pockets 
Felling  edge  tape 
Tacking  facings 
Padding  collars 
French  felling  of  collars 
Felling  collars  in  the  neck 
Taping  armholes 
Thread  stitching  armholes 

In  work  thus  subdivided  the  prime  requisite  for 
success  is  not  any  special  skill,  but  speed,  and  this 
comes  with  practice  after  the  worker  has  been 
shown  how  to  do  the  work. 

266 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 
METHODS  OF  TRAINING  LEARNERS 

"The  forelady  showed  me  once,"  usually  sum- 
marized how  a  girl  learned  the  work,  and  practice 
did  the  rest.  Speed,  with  accuracy,  was  the  only 
qualification  necessary  for  the  slight  advancement 
possible.  The  problem  of  learning  depends  upon 
the  processes  within  the  industry  rather  than  upon 
the  industry  itself,  as  processes  require  differing 
degrees  and  kinds  of  skill.  In  the  straw  hat  trade, 
employers  agreed  that  it  took  three  seasons  for  a 
girl  to  become  a  good  operator,  but  only  a  few 
weeks  or  a  month  to  become  a  crown  sewer.  In 
the  olive  industry  a  girl  can  learn  to  wash  bottles 
in  a  few  minutes,  to  label  in  a  few  days,  but  it 
requires  six  months  to  become  a  good  olive  packer. 
Therefore  employers  stated  that  school  training 
might  be  feasible  for  some  operations.  It  is  sig- 
nificant, however,  that  employer  after  employer, 
in  industry  after  industry,  reported  that  in  all  the 
different  processes  in  their  establishments  there 
was  "nothing  to  learn"  and  school  training  would 
be  unnecessary. 

The  few  employers  who  had  given  any  thought 
to  the  organization  of  teaching  learners  or  devising 
a  system  of  advancement  were  conspicuous  because 
they  were  rare.  An  underwear  manufacturer  em- 
ploying 50  girls  took  five  or  six  learners  a  year. 
"We  almost  always  take  on  our  girls  as  learners, 
and  then  train  them  in  the  way  we  want  things 
done."  The  reports  of  several  girls  working  here 
showed  his  statement  to  be  true,  but  also  revealed 
is  267 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  fact  that  learners  at  $3.00  a  week  were  quite 
profitable. 

Another  underwear  firm  took  learners  at  $5.00 
a  week  to  be  taught  by  a  sample  maker.  A  corset 
factory  maintained  a  school  where  20  could  be 
taught  at  a  time.  The  teacher  showed  them  how  to 
operate  the  12  different  machines  in  the  room  and 
then  let  them  specialize  on  one.  The  training  lasted 
from  two  to  six  weeks  during  which  period  they 
were  paid  $5.50  a  week. 

In  an  ostrich  feather  factory,  where  100  women 
were  employed,  learners,  who  had  to  be  sixteen 
years  old,  began  at  preparing.  They  could  become 
curlers  or  sewers  at  $10  to  $22  a  week.  A  girl 
usually  showed  preference  or  ability  for  some  spe- 
cial process  and  she  was  developed  along  that  line. 
A  skilled  girl  that  had  learned  here  said,  however, 
that  one  in  this  trade  usually  had  to  learn  by 
watching  and  trying;  it  took  about  two  years  to 
become  a  good  curler.  In  a  handkerchief  factory 
where  five  or  six  learners  were  taken  on  every  year, 
the  time  for  learning  was  estimated  as  six  or  eight 
weeks.  "When  I  have  machine  room,  I  take  on 
learners.  Also  it  must  not  be  rush  time  because  I 
have  to  give  my  time  to  the  training,"  said  the 
foreman.  Learners  sixteen  years  or  older  in  a  neck- 
wear shop  were  trained  for  three  or  four  months. 
"It  is  better  to  train  our  own  workers.  Then  they 
do  the  work  up  to  our  standard.  They  begin  as 
packers  and  then  do  hand-finishing  and  finally  they 
learn  machine  operating." 

268 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

A  plan  of  progression  had  been  worked  out  in  a 
paper-box  factory.  The  learner,  who  might  be  as 
young  as  fourteen  years,  first  covered  boxes,  then 
pasted  on  tapes,  put  on  labels,  put  in  paper  lace 
and  tissue  paper,  did  turning-in,  and  finally  be- 
came a  stripper,  which  is  the  best  paid  process. 
In  one  large  candy  factory,  where  learners  had  to 
be  over  sixteen  years  and  were  paid  $5.00  a  week, 
the  manager  explained  that  it  cost  about  $50  to 
train  a  dipper,  considering  the  forewoman's  time 
and  spoiled  materials. 

If  a  girl  wanted  to  learn  buttonhole  making  in 
a  certain  men's  clothing  factory,  the  foreman  al- 
lowed her  to  sit  beside  the  buttonhole  makers  and 
to  ask  one  of  them  as  a  favor  to  show  her;  or  the 
girl  might  have  a  friend  who  was  willing  to  show 
her.  The  owner  of  a  large  tobacco  factory  boasted 
that  every  one  of  the  400  workers  in  one  depart- 
ment had  been  trained  there.  He  claimed  that  his 
was  practically  the  only  firm  willing  to  take  the 
responsibility  of  training  learners.  Girls  paid  $5.00 
to  the  firm  to  learn,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year  the 
amount  was  returned  doubled.  He  believed  that 
learners  could  be  taught  in  the  factories  in  co- 
operation with  the  schools.  In  a  hair  goods  factory 
the  system  of  teaching  was  described  briefly  by  the 
investigator  as  "nagging."  The  firm  tried  to  hire 
only  those  with  some  experience.  A  girl  was  ap- 
pointed to  "nag  at  them."  Whenever  they  let 
snarls  go  through,  or  allowed  knots  to  be  unevenly 


269 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

tied,  they  were  corrected.  In  two  months  the  work 
had  to  be  perfect. 

In  some  establishments  employers  had  found 
that  it  paid  to  let  workers  learn  more  than  one 
process.  On  the  finer  grades  of  dresses,  for  example, 
one  employer  had  each  worker  learn  to  make  the 
whole  garment,  as  the  dainty  fabrics  could  not  be 
passed  from  one  worker  to  another  without  injury. 
Other  employers  had  found  that  all-round  training 
made  better  workers,  even  though  the  girl  worked 
ultimately  only  on  one  process.  Workers  with  such 
training  could  be  transferred  according  to  need. 
It  was  very  common,  however,  to  find  women  and 
girls  who  had  been  in  an  industry  for  several  years 
without  any  opportunity  to  try  any  other  work 
than  one  special  process.  For  example,  it  was  found 
in  some  instances  that  a  packer  had  never  done 
examining ;  an  examiner  had  never  done  operating ; 
an  operator  had  never  done  hand  sewing. 

Monotony  of  the  work  and  specialization  is  no 
doubt  a  contributing  cause  to  frequent  changing 
of  positions.  In  a  paper-bag  factory  where  the 
work  was  very  monotonous  the  force  of  17  women 
was  continually  changing.  Candy  manufacturers 
complained  of  the  instability  of  their  forces.  "They 
stick  about  a  year  and  then  they  go  into  something 
else." 

While  some  employers  emphasized  the  value  of 
trade  school  training  in  developing  in  the  girls  a 
sense  of  responsibility  and  industrious  habits,  when 
the  processes  required  training  and  practice,  others 


EDUCATION    AND   TRAINING 

believed  it  would  be  impracticable  to  have  the 
work  taught  in  a  school.  Expensive  machinery 
would  have  to  be  installed,  and  with  new  inven- 
tions and  devices  it  would  be  difficult  to  keep  this 
up  to  date.  There  would  be,  moreover,  the  serious 
problem  of  getting  rid  of  the  product.  Such  im- 
portant objections  point  to  the  need  of  developing 
better  systems  of  training  in  the  workroom.  A 
combination  of  shop  and  school  instruction  is  be- 
ginning to  find  favor  among  progressive  employers. 
Actual  training  in  the  processes  of  work  within  the 
factory,  where  the  proper  machinery  and  latest 
devices  may  be  provided,  with  sufficient  raw  ma- 
terials to  work  upon  and  with  no  problem  of  dis- 
posing of  the  output,  may  be  combined  with  school 
instruction.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  system  of 
trade  schools  will  ever  cover  adequately  all  the 
trades  in  a  city  like  New  York,  yet  some  form  of 
supervision  of  learners  in  industry  is  needed.  The 
responsibility  for  such  training  even  in  the  factory 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  trade  school  authorities, 
and  ought  to  be  supplemented  by  school  room 
work  and  physical  education.  The  specialization 
in  present-day  industry  is  an  added  argument  for 
better  training  and  preparation  for  work,  unless  the 
worker  is  to  degenerate  into  a  machine  knowing 
only  one  minute  process  or  motion  of  an  occupa- 
tion, without  understanding  its  relation  to  the  rest 
of  the  work  and  without  ability  to  shift  into  any 
other  process. 


271 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 
CHOOSING  A  TRADE 

Varied  as  are  the  industries  which  are  to  be 
found  on  the  lower  west  side  within  a  few  blocks 
of  the  homes  of  these  girls  and  women,  yet  each 
girl  when  ready  to  pick  out  her  "trade"  or  seek  a 
new  job,  was  strangely  limited  in  her  opportunity 
of  finding  the  work  she  wanted,  or  for  which  she 
might  be  best  fitted.  Her  "choice"  usually  con- 
sisted in  taking  what  she  could  get,  either  through 
a  relative  or  some  kind  friend,  or  through  the  more 
uncertain  means  of  answering  an  "ad"  in  the 
Sunday  World  or  applying  in  factories  where  "help 
wanted"  signs  ornamented  the  entrance.  In  most 
cases  the  sole  reason  why  a  girl  was  in  one  kind  of 
work  rather  than  another  was  because  a  new  hand 
was  by  chance  needed  in  a  shop  where  a  friend  of 
hers  was  employed.  Any  personal  preferences  or 
ideas  as  to  special  fitness  for  certain  kinds  of  work 
had  to  be  subordinated  to  what  the  concrete  job 
at  hand  offered.  Whether  she  had  to  accept  this 
first  offer  or  could  afford  to  wait  was  determined 
by  the  need  of  her  wages  at  home.  This  need  was 
usually  urgent.  Whether  she  was  the  native-born 
girl  who  had  attended  a  public  school  and  spoke 
English,  or  the  young  immigrant,  handicapped  by 
her  ignorance  of  the  language,  and  obliged  to  ac- 
cept what  any  industry  or  occupation  had  to  offer, 
there  was  no  opportunity  for  vocational  guidance. 
The  question,  "Why  did  you  go  into  this  trade?" 
sometimes  brought  for  answer  a  surprised  stare, 
because  to  the  girl  it  had  usually  been  one  of  those 

272 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

things  that  "just  happened."  There  was  rarely 
a  question  of  "how."  Usually  the  question  met 
such  answers  as,  "Oh,  a  friend  brought  me,"  "It 
was  the  only  thing  I  could  think  of,"  or  "  I  just 
went  around  by  myself,  for  I  didn't  have  any 
friend  to  take  me  any  place."  Of  874  who  told 
of  how  they  had  secured  their  first  position  in  New 
York  City,  685,  or  over  three-fourths,  had  found 
their  first  job  through  some  friend  or  relative. 
Only  44  had  had  the  advantage  of  help  from  a 
school,  settlement,  or  agency.  Without  friends, 
137  had  secured  their  first  position  by  applying 
at  places  advertising  for  workers,  or  sometimes 
even  in  places  that  had  not  advertised. 

The  selection  of  a  trade  in  such  ways  must  ob- 
viously lead  to  many  misfits.  Some  employers  may 
unconsciously  make  way  for  adjustments  by  dis- 
charging the  workers  least  satisfactory  to  them, 
but  who  may  be  able  to  make  good  elsewhere. 
Sometimes  the  worker  herself  can  make  a  readjust- 
ment by  finding  a  better  opening.  Just  as  often, 
however,  the  misfit  continues  as  long  as  the  woman 
remains  at  work.  The  result  frequently  accounts 
for  a  low  earning  capacity  even  after  years  of  wage- 
earning,  an  indifference  to  their  tasks,  and  a 
readiness  to  escape  from  dissatisfying  conditions 
through  marriage  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  A 
few  typical  histories  will  emphasize  the  small  con- 
sideration given  to  selecting  a  trade  at  which  a 
woman  may  continue  day  after  day  and  year  after 


273 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

year,  although  she  may  be  manifestly  unfitted  for 
the  work. 

It  was  through  a  friend  that  Isabella  Caroni  hap- 
pened to  start  at  fancy  feather  making.  Though 
she  had  been  working  five  years  and  was  nineteen, 
she  had  been  able  to  increase  her  weekly  earnings 
to  only  $6.50.  Her  sister  Rose,  sixteen  years  of  age, 
had  gone  to  work  at  fourteen  as  a  plat  carrier  in  a 
candy  factory  a  block  away,  because  her  cousin 
was  a  forewoman  there.  When  visited,  she  was 
earning  $6.00  a  week  but  didn't  like  the  trade. 
"  It  isn't  nice,"  she  said,  but  she  knew  of  no  way 
of  getting  into  anything  else.  The  oldest  sister, 
twenty-two,  was  a  brush  maker  working  in  Brook- 
lyn at  $8.00  a  week.  A  friend  had  found  her  this 
job  when  she  was  fourteen.  All  three  sisters  had  con- 
tinued in  the  same  shop  and  trade  into  which  they 
had  been  brought  by  the  merest  chance,  without 
any  regard  to  liking,  special  fitness,  or  intelligence. 
A  younger  sister  was  about  to  leave  school.  When 
the  visitor  asked  her  plans  she  said  she  was  ready 
to  work  at  anything  she  could  get.  Yet  all  four 
sisters  were  born  in  this  city,  had  attended  public 
schools  here,  and  had  not  left  before  they  had 
reached  grade  7A.  They  had  not  been  handicapped 
by  a  lack  of  English  as  were  their  two  cousins 
who  had  just  arrived  from  Italy.  These  were  rag 
sorters  in  a  place  on  Hudson  Street.  Two  charm- 
ing girls  of  eighteen  and  twenty,  still  with  robust 
health  from  their  outdoor  life  as  farm  hands,  said 
they  could  find  no  better  work  than  this  which  a 

274 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

friend  got  for  them  at  $5.00  a  week.  The  work 
was  dirty,  the  hours  long,  and  the  pay  small. 

Rose  Gorgoni's  sister  complained  that  Rose  had 
always  had  such  bad  luck  in  finding  positions. 
"She  is  always  going  into  paper  boxes  or  paper 
bags,  and  the  girls  use  awful  language  in  them 
places."  At  fourteen,  while  at  school  in  grade  6B, 
Rose  had  been  "crazy  to  go  to  work,"  perhaps 
chiefly  because  her  family  had  had  a  hard  struggle 
to  get  along  since  the  father  died.  Fortunately  the 
friend  who  was  able  to  get  her  a  job  was  at  that 
time  willowing  feathers.  During  the  next  two  years 
Rose  worked  at  a  trade  having  a  period  of  pros- 
perity. But  when  the  demand  for  willow  plumes 
died  down  the  firm  failed  and  Rose  was  without 
a  job.  Since  that  time  she  had  been  in  a  variety  of 
positions — selling  in  a  milk  station,  cleaning  and 
finishing  women's  suits,  glueing  paper  bags,  and 
doing  poorly  paid  willowing  at  home  while  waiting 
for  a  friend  to  find  her  a  job.  She  never  looked 
for  a  job  herself,  as  she  had  no  jobless  friend  to 
go  around  with  and  was  "ashamed"  to  go  alone. 
Besides  her  mother  didn't  like  her  to  answer  adver- 
tisements. 

In  contrast  to  this  lack  of  initiative  is  the  record 
of  Nellie,  an  ambitious  milliner  of  twenty-five  who 
had  to  leave  school  at  thirteen  years  of  age,  when 
she  graduated,  because  the  family  could  not  afford 
to  let  her  continue.  As  she  could  not  satisfy  her 
ambition  of  becoming  a  teacher  she  felt  that  she  had 
a  right  to  choose  her  own  trade.    She  had  always 

275 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

been  fond  of  making  dolls'  hats  and  chose  mil- 
linery. For  six  weeks  she  worked  for  nothing  in  a 
small  millinery  shop  on  Bleecker  Street  owned  by 
a  woman  whom  she  knew.  After  twelve  years  of 
the  trade  Nellie  had  become  head  trimmer  in  a 
Broadway  wholesale  house  at  $18  a  week.  Her 
intelligent  interest  in  her  own  work  and  her  trade 
showed  why  she  had  succeeded.  Her  sister  Mary 
went  into  the  trade  because  she  was  in  it.  Nellie 
explained  that  Mary  did  not  have  much  taste  for 
the  trade,  but  that  she  had  been  able  to  work  up 
to  $13.  Another  sister,  Ida,  eighteen  years  old, 
was  also  in  the  trade,  but  evidently  had  no  aptitude 
for  the  work.  The  only  reason  that  she  was  in  it 
was  because  her  sisters  were  and  there  seemed  little 
prospect  of  her  rising  above  her  $6.00  wage  as  a 
stock  girl. 

The  experience  of  two  other  sisters  shows  the 
drawbacks  of  such  accidental  selecting  of  a  trade. 
The  older  sister,  Lizzie,  had  been  a  bookbinder  for 
fourteen  years,  since  her  father  first  took  her  to  a 
little  pamphlet  place  on  Walker  Street  to  learn 
hand  folding.  She  was  a  paster  at  $8.00  a  week. 
Feeling  dissatisfied  she  tried  twice  to  get  into  some- 
thing else,  and  spent  half  a  day  at  furs,  which  she 
found  too  dusty,  and  two  months  at  packing  candy, 
which  she  didn't  like.  These  experiences  reconciled 
her  to  her  fate  of  $8.00  a  week,  especially  as  she 
believed  that  there  was  no  escape.  Her  younger 
sister,  however,  was  more  ambitious.  With  a  year 
of  high  school  she  developed  higher  aspirations  than 

276 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

for  factory  work  and  for  three  or  four  years  spent 
all  her  winter  evenings  studying  bookkeeping  and 
stenography  and  typewriting.  She  sacrificed  all 
this  time  so  that  she  might  leave  the  umbrella 
trade  to  which  her  brother  had  introduced  her. 
At  one  time,  although  she  was  making  as  much  as 
$12,  she  took  a  position  as  stenographer  at  $6.00 
a  week.  After  two  such  positions,  both  of  which 
proved  temporary,  she  too  had  to  return  to  hand 
sewing  on  umbrellas.  This  return  had  occurred 
six  years  ago,  but  when  she  was  visited  she  was 
reviewing  her  stenography  and  fondly  hoping  that 
some  day  she  might  satisfy  her  ambition.  The  hope 
was  growing  fainter  as  the  doubt  grew  whether  she 
could  ever  earn  as  a  stenographer  the  $14  which 
she  was  earning  as  an  umbrella  maker. 

When  the  Cioffari  girls  went  out  to  work,  evi- 
dently more  discussion  took  place  as  to  what 
they  should  take  up  than  is  customary  in  most 
families.  The  father  was  a  bookbinder,  but  he  did 
not  want  his  daughters  in  this  trade  as  he  thought 
the  work  very  hard,  and  the  maximum  that  a  girl 
could  make  was  $10  a  week.  Paging  would  have 
paid  well  enough  but  he  knew  the  work  to  be  un- 
healthy, as  girls  had  to  stand  tramping  a  pedal  all 
day.  The  mother  had  been  a  tobacco  worker,  but 
she  did  not  recommend  this  trade  as  "there  was 
too  much  stink."  The  family  had  "always"  made 
flowers  at  home,  but  Philomena  definitely  declared 
that  she  would  never  go  into  that  trade,  for  not 
only  would  she  have  to  work  all  day  but  all  night, 

277 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

Sundays  and  holidays  as  well.  With  these  trades 
eliminated,  Philomena  set  out  on  her  search  for  an 
occupation.  She  first  got  into  a  candy  factory,  but 
left  after  a  month's  trial.  "You  have  to  change 
yourself  so  often.  You  have  to  exchange  your 
shoes,  for  they  get  all  covered  with  the  drippings 
from  the  chocolate.  It  is  awfully  sloppy."  When 
visited  she  was  trying  her  hand  at  fancy  feather 
making,  and  seemed  content  chiefly  because  she 
did  not  have  to  take  any  work  home.  Her  sister 
Flora  had  settled  on  becoming  a  dressmaker  be- 
cause she  often  sewed  things  for  herself,  but  the 
nearest  she  could  come  to  satisfying  this  ambition 
was  sewing  coat  ornaments  and  braids. 

Sometimes  a  girl  who  had  been  forced  into  a  job 
in  which  she  felt  she  would  never  succeed,  had 
managed  to  find  her  real  work.  Angelina  Palisi, 
although  only  twenty-two  years  old,  had  become 
forewoman  in  a  straw-sewing  place  at  $20  a  week. 
She  first  began  work  at  the  early  age  of  ten  and 
for  five  years  worked  in  flower  making.  But  she 
could  never  make  over  $4.50  and  considered  $3.50 
"grand  money."  Her  family  then  decided  it  was 
time  for  her  to  learn  a  real  "trade."  She  was  sent 
to  learn  hand  embroidery  on  lingerie  in  the  home 
of  a  neighbor.  But  her  hands  perspired,  the  work 
got  dirty,  and  the  sample  of  work  she  sent  to  a 
factory  was  returned  with  word  that  the  work  was 
well  done  but  it  was  too  dirty.  For  a  year  she 
struggled  on,  trying  to  overcome  this  trouble,  but 
at  last  in  despair  she  seized  upon  the  offer  of  a 

278 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

friend  to  take  her  to  learn  straw  sewing.  As  it  was 
not  the  custom  of  the  shop  to  take  learners,  she 
was  coached  by  her  friend  to  say  she  was  experi- 
enced. It  was  in  this  work  that  she  was  finally  able 
to  succeed. 

Lack  of  education  is  sometimes  the  barrier  that 
cuts  a  girl  off  from  the  work  that  she  wants.  Kate 
Borsi,  always  hating  school  and  never  attending 
regularly,  was  glad  to  get  a  job  at  stripping  tobacco 
in  a  cigar  factory.  Later,  however,  she  developed  an 
ambition  to  become  a  telephone  operator,  but  she 
suddenly  discovered  that  she  did  not  know  how  to 
read  or  write  well  enough.  She  was  anxious  to  learn 
some  good  trade.  Tobacco  work  she  found  hard, 
dirty,  and  unhealthy.  But  when  she  sought  a 
change  she  came  face  to  face  with  the  problem  of 
her  own  poor  equipment. 

Even  an  immigrant  with  experience  or  training 
in  work  that  she  might  use  here  cannot  always  find 
an  opening,  but  must  turn  to  other  work.  One  girl 
who  had  been  here  only  four  months  had  very 
unsteady  work  at  hemstitching  on  ties  and  veils. 
She  was  twenty-three  years  old  and  found  her 
wage  of  $5.00  meager  support.  For  some  time  she 
had  worked  for  only  two  days  a  week.  She  knew 
how  to  embroider,  but  was  afraid  that  she  could 
not  do  it  well  enough  to  suit  the  "boss."  Because 
she  knew  no  English  she  was  timid  about  looking 
for  new  work,  and  she  had  no  friends  who  might 
help  her. 


279 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 
SHIFTING  FROM  JOB  TO  JOB 

The  haphazard  and  indefinite  ways  in  which  the 
women  and  girls  have  chosen  their  work  and  the 
difficulties  that  they  meet  with  in  finding  a  new 
job  when  they  are  laid  off  means  constant  changing 
from  one  industry  to  another.  Work  which  re- 
quires no  skill  does  not  offer  much  inducement  to 
a  worker  to  make  a  special  effort  to  advance  in  it. 
It  is  easier  to  seize  the  first  job  that  comes  her  way, 
even  though  the  work  is  in  a  different  industry. 
Although  a  worker  has  acquired  some  skill  and 
speed  in  a  given  industry,  economic  pressure  at 
home  sometimes  forbids  her  waiting  for  another 
similar  opening  and  she  must  take  the  first  job  she 
can  get,  even  at  a  sacrifice  of  her  former  experience. 

Only  471  of  the  group  of  1,095  had  been  in  but 
one  industry,  while  almost  a  third,  or  340,  had  been 
in  two,  147  in  three,  and  54,  or  nearly  one  out  of 
every  20,  had  been  in  five  or  more  distinct  indus- 
tries. Times  have  indeed  changed  since  the  reign 
of  Edward  III  in  England  when  a  law  prescribed 
that  men  could  not  change  their  occupations.  Dur- 
ing the  course  of  two  years,  sixteen-year-old  Maria 
Viviani  had  tried  her  hand  in  eight  such  differ- 
ent industries  as  the  making  of  aprons,  straw 
hats,  dress  shields,  shirtwaists,  gloves,  underwear, 
dresses,  and  silk  embroidery.  "  I  have  worked  in 
every  trade  in  New  York  City,"  exclaimed  Emilia, 
a  girl  of  twenty,  as  she  told  of  working  on  women's 
neckwear,  hat  pins,  suits,  children's  cloaks,  in- 
fants' caps,  shirtwaists,  furs,  and  dresses.  Another 

280 


EDUCATION    AND    TRAINING 

girl  had  run  the  gamut  of  the  trades  from  packing 
candy  to  spooling  thread.  "  I  have  worked  in  lots 
of  places.  You  see,  I  have  been  working  ten  years," 
she  added,  as  if  this  fact  was  in  itself  an  explana- 
tion. 

TABLE  36. — SELECTED  INDUSTRIES  IN  WHICH  THE 
ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS  INVESTIGATED  HAD 
EVER  BEEN  EMPLOYED,  AND  WOMEN  IN  EACH 
SPECIFIED  INDUSTRY  AT  TIME  OF   INVESTIGATION 


Industry 


Artificial  flowers 

Feathers     .... 

Men's  tailored  garments 

Women's  tailored  garments 

Custom  dressmaking 

Wholesale  dressmaking 

Shirtwaists 

Muslin  underwear    . 

Corsets       .... 

Women's  neckwear 

Children's  clothing  . 

Millinery    .... 

Infants'  caps 

Millinery  ornaments 

Hand  embroidery 

Swiss  machine  embroidery 

Paper  boxes 

Bookbinding 

Tobacco     .... 

Candy 

Biscuits  and  bakery  products 

Groceries  and  spices 


Women  employed  in 
specified  industry 


The  table  shows  that  from  two  to  three  times  as 
many  women  have  been  employed  at  some  time  in 

281 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

each  industry  as  were  employed  in  them  at  the 
time  of  investigation.  Millinery  had  been  tried 
by  33,  but  only  a  third  of  these  were  in  the  trade 
at  the  time  of  investigation.  Of  course  this  does 
not  necessarily  mean  that  two-thirds  of  the  girls 
have  left  the  trade,  for  a  few  might  have  been  in 
temporary  work  during  the  slack  season.  But  fre- 
quently the  temporary  job  for  the  slack  season  be- 
comes the  permanent  trade,  if  it  is  more  steady  or 
if,  when  the  season  begins  in  her  own  trade,  no 
opening  occurs.  Among  those  who  gave  feathers 
as  their  trade,  two-thirds  were  also  found  in  some 
other  kind  of  work.  Here  the  shifting  was  due  to 
the  rapid  decline  of  the  willow  plume  industry 
which  formerly  employed  many  Italians.  For  them 
it  has  meant  starting  anew  in  something  else. 

This  shifting  has  advantages  and  disadvantages 
to  industry  and  worker  alike.  It  is  a  consequence 
of  the  lack  of  training,  or  of  vocational  guidance. 
Under  the  present  haphazard  methods  by  which 
the  employer  chooses  his  workers,  and  the  worker 
her  trade  and  employer,  the  shifting  may  represent 
sometimes  the  elimination  of  an  unsatisfactory 
worker  from  an  industry;  sometimes  the  abandon- 
ment of  an  undesirable  trade  on  the  part  of  the 
worker.  It  is  a  crude  trial  method  of  finding  the 
best  worker  for  a  trade  and  the  best  trade  for  a 
worker.  Where  the  readjustment  is  voluntary  on 
the  part  of  the  worker  to  advance  to  better  work 
or  wages  the  shifting  is  a  good  sign.  Even  if  a 
woman  does  not  leave  of  her  own  accord,  but  is 

282 


EDUCATION   j\ND    TRAINING 

laid  off,  it  sometimes  becomes  the  occasion  when 
she  feels  justified  in  making  a  change  which  she 
would  not  have  risked  by  voluntarily  giving  up  a 
job.  Where  it  is  due  to  shiftlessness  and  a  desire 
for  novelty  in  change  of  work,  it  becomes  a  more 
serious  matter. 

But  the  most  serious  situation  is  faced  when  the 
worker,  having  acquired  a  certain  valuable  experi- 
ence in  her  trade,  is  forced  to  enter  a  new  industry. 
With  no  other  means  at  her  command  than  the 
advertisements  in  the  daily  paper,  a  limited  knowl- 
edge of  the  location  of  the  shops  in  her  own  trade, 
and  without  any  information  on  prevailing  labor 
or  market  conditions,  she  must  unaided  make  a  re- 
adjustment for  herself  in  the  vast  field  of  industry 
in  New  York  City.  On  the  one  hand,  if  she  is  the 
carefully  guarded  girl  in  the  Italian  home  where 
the  family  assumes  a  protective  attitude  and  for- 
bids her  going  about  alone  in  search  of  a  job,  she 
must  wait  until  friends,  with  their  limited  oppor- 
tunities, can  help  her.  Sofia  Caruso,  a  Sicilian  girl 
closely  guarded  by  her  conservative  parents,  when 
asked  whether  she  liked  buttonhole  making  replied, 
"  I  would  like  to  be  in  another  trade,  but  1  never 
had  any  friend  to  take  me  to  any  other  trade." 

On  the  other  hand  is  the  more  independent  girl 
who  buys  the  morning  World  or  //  Giornale  Ital- 
iano,  and  applies  in  factory  after  factory  until  she 
finds  a  position.  "I  am  never  out  of  work  long," 
said  an  unusually  pretty,  energetic  girl.  "  I  get 
the  papers  and  go  out  in  the  morning.  Sometimes 
'«»  283 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

I  get  into  queer  places,  but  I'm  not  afraid."  Never- 
theless, she  took  the  precaution  of  getting  ac- 
quainted with  other  applicants  at  the  door. 

From  the  foregoing  pages  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
problem  of  selecting  the  industry  and  occupation 
by  which  a  worker  expects  to  earn  her  living  is  one 
of  the  most  serious  that  faces  both  the  native-born 
Italian  girl  who  leaves  a  New  York  school  to  go  to 
work  and  the  immigrant  woman.  Only  within  the 
last  few  years  has  there  been  an  awakening  to 
this  vital  weakness  in  our  industrial  system;  with 
it  a  beginning  has  been  made  toward  solving 
the  problem  through  proper  vocational  guidance. 
Schools,  settlements,  and  other  organizations  in 
touch  with  these  young  workers  are  realizing  that 
they  must  be  helped  to  select  an  occupation  for 
which  they  are  fitted,  and  a  suitable  job  or  place 
of  employment.  Employers  have  been  filling  their 
work  shops  with  children  just  out  of  school,  ab- 
sorbing their  time  and  strength  without  giving 
them  any  training  in  return.  The  adult  immigrant 
faces  similar  difficulties.  Thus  the  industrial  his- 
tories of  both  immigrant  and  native-born  workers 
point  to  the  urgent  need  of  more  effective  and 
economical  methods  of  solving  this  problem  of 
selecting  an  occupation,  closely  connected  as  it  is 
with  other  fundamental  problems  of  industry  and 
labor. 


284 


CHAPTER  XI 
READJUSTMENT 

IN  a  cosmopolitan  city  like  New  York  the  in- 
dustrial problems  of  any  one  nationality  are 
inextricably  bound  up  with  those  of  other 
nationalities  and  with  the  working  population  as 
a  whole.  Italian  women  face  conditions  of  em- 
ployment and  living  in  New  York  similar  to  those 
which  confront  women  from  other  countries.  Ital- 
ians formed  only  a  third  of  the  working  force 
in  the  establishments  investigated  in  this  study, 
but  the  whole  group  of  women  of  which  they 
were  a  part  worked  the  same  hours,  under  the 
same  conditions,  and  experienced  the  same  un- 
certainty of  employment  with  the  change  of  sea- 
sons. Testimony  of  employers  and  observation 
of  investigators  showed  that  Italian  women  were 
engaged  in  the  same  processes  and  at  the  same 
wages  as  their  fellow-workers.  Any  attempt, 
therefore,  to  understand  and  improve  conditions 
for  them  will  forward  the  movement  for  women 
workers  as  a  whole. 

The  discouraging  picture  disclosed  by  following 
these  Italian  women  into  their  homes  and  into  their 
workshops  presents  an  indictment,  therefore,  not 
of  their  personal  standards  but  rather  of  the  social 

285 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

and  industrial  conditions  that  are  permitted  to 
exist.  Filled  with  hope  for  emancipation  from  the 
poverty  which  in  Italy  had  dragged  them  down 
until  their  only  way  out  had  been  to  hazard  a 
fresh  start,  they  came,  some  with  their  families, 
some  without,  only  to  find  that  they  were  unable 
to  free  themselves  from  their  heavy  burdens,  and 
that  in  addition  they  were  deprived  of  the  fresh 
country  air  and  the  wide  spaces  of  their  native 
villages.  Crowded  together  story  upon  story  in 
insanitary  tenements,  often  in  only  three  or  four 
rooms,  these  women  and  their  families  enjoyed 
none  of  the  "modern  conveniences"  that  we  asso- 
ciate with  American  city  life. 

Because  the  fathers  know  neither  English  nor 
the  opportunities  which  industry  might  offer 
them,  they  are  likely  to  drift  into  unskilled  labor, 
often  so  casual  that  they  spend  more  time  idle 
than  employed.  Their  earnings,  poor  at  best,  do 
not  give  a  margin  sufficient,  when  they  are  out 
of  work,  to  cover  even  the  cost  of  food  for  their 
families.  The  mothers,  in  order  to  add  a  few  dol- 
lars to  the  family  income,  often  work  as  janitresses 
for  the  tenement  in  which  they  live,  besides  spend- 
ing any  spare  moments  during  the  day  making 
artificial  flowers  or  doing  other  home  work.  In 
the  evening  the  whole  family,  even  the  three-year- 
old  toddler,  helps  with  the  flowers.  The  children, 
both  boys  and  girls,  take  out  their  working  papers 
as  soon  as  it  is  legally  possible  for  them  to  leave 
school.     If  the  daughters  are  old  enough  when 

286 


READJUSTMENT 

they  reach  this  country  they  immediately  enter 
a  factory,  without  having  had  the  contact  with 
American  life  which  a  year  or  two  in  the  public 
schools  would  have  given  them.  The  factories 
afford  them  little  opportunity  for  learning  our 
customs  or  advancing  beyond  the  particular  task 
they  are  set  to  do.  Here  they  encounter  the  pres- 
ent-day tendency  toward  specialization.  Instead 
of  being  allowed  to  make  a  whole  garment,  or 
even  a  whole  box,  they  are  set  to  doing,  hour  after 
hour,  a  single  more  or  less  mechanical  subdivision 
of  a  process.  The  simpler  the  process  the  more 
deadly  becomes  its  constant  repetition.  Quantity, 
not  quality,  is  required. 

Few  provisions  are  made  by  their  employers 
for  the  well-being  or  comfort  of  these  Italian 
workers.  Inadequate  fire  protection,  poor  light- 
ing and  ventilation,  lack  of  seats,  in  combination 
with  long  hours  of  work,  often  increased  by  illegal 
overtime  and  night  work,  impair  their  vitality. 
Very  seldom  are  the  shops  equipped  with  lunch 
rooms  where  the  brief  respite  at  noon  may  be 
spent.  In  fact,  lunches  are  often  eaten  at  the 
machines.  If  sufficient  time  is  given  to  leave  the 
workroom,  the  women  can  exchange  the  close 
atmosphere  of  the  factory  only  for  the  noise  and 
bustle  of  the  street.  Moreover,  the  earnings  from 
their  long  hours  of  work  under  unhealthy  condi- 
tions are  not  only  pitifully  small  but  also  very 
irregular.  Never  free  from  the  strain  of  trying  to 
make  a  few  dollars  cover  all  their  absolute  needs, 

287 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

they  are  underfed,  wretchedly  housed,  ill  clad, 
and  able  to  look  forward   to  no  secure  future. 

Employed,  as  they  are,  chiefly  in  seasonal  indus- 
tries, without  either  a  general  education  or  training 
for  any  particular  trade,  these  girls  are  doomed 
to  a  weary  round,  first  looking  for  a  job,  then  over- 
working during  the  busy  season  when  they  can 
get  work,  and  laid  off  when  it  is  slack.  Often  mar- 
riage does  not  free  them  from  this  anxiety  and 
grinding  poverty;  it  merely  changes  their  work 
and  adds  children  to  their  burden.  The  Italian 
woman  is  also  handicapped  in  her  efforts  to  adjust 
herself  to  her  new  life  because  of  Italian  traditions 
and  ideas.  Regarded  by  her  family  primarily  as  a 
homemaker,  she  is  usually  denied  any  opportunity 
for  self-improvement  beyond  the  most  elementary 
education.  Nor  is  she  allowed  to  participate  in 
civic  or  social  activities,  and  is  therefore  cut  off 
from  all  contact  with  American  life.  Such  are 
the  conditions  under  which  Italian  women  and 
those  of  other  races,  working  side  by  side  with 
them,  live  and  labor.  Seldom  are  they  able  to 
reach  even  a  minimum  of  decency  and  comfort, 
while  the  great  majority  of  them  have  to  struggle 
against  a  series  of  obstacles  which  they  individu- 
ally are  powerless  to  overcome. 

One  of  the  points  clearly  illustrated  by  this 
study  of  Italian  women  is  the  fallacy  and  waste  of 
a  laisse{faire  policy  in  dealing  with  our  immigrant 
workers.  The  results  of  this  policy,  especially  in 
industry,  have  been  brought  home  to  us  by  the 

288 


READJUSTMENT 

stoppage  of  immigration  and  the  entrance  of  the 
United  States  into  the  world  war.  The  retarded 
production  of  ships,  planes,  and  munitions  has 
shown  us  the  need  of  an  organized  and  stable  labor 
force,  united  in  its  purpose  and  willing  to  put  its 
shoulder  to  the  wheel  with  its  whole  strength.  And 
it  is  with  something  of  a  shock  that  we  have  waked 
up  to  the  true  situation  as  regards  immigrant  labor. 
We  have  permitted  aliens  to  live  among  us  for 
twenty  or  thirty  years  who  have  learned  little 
more  about  our  institutions,  our  ideals  or  our 
standards  than  they  knew  when  they  landed.  Ex- 
cept for  attempts  here  and  there  under  private 
or  public  auspices  to  establish  evening  classes 
where  English  and  sometimes  civics  and  history 
are  taught,  we  have  made  no  comprehensive 
provision  for  giving  them  a  knowledge  of  our 
institutions. 

On  the  lower  west  side,  in  the  Italian  section 
where  the  women  lived  who  were  included  in  this 
investigation,  there  was  but  one  evening  school, 
situated  between  tall  factories  dark  at  night. 
Nor  throughout  the  city  was  there  a  single  day 
school  for  minors  between  sixteen  and  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  where  English  for  foreigners  was 
taught.  Very  few  of  these  Italian  women  and 
girls  or  those  studied  by  the  International  Insti- 
tute had  supplemented  their  education  by  attend- 
ing evening  schools.  The  chief  reasons  given  for 
their  non-attendance  were  the  fatigue  resulting 
from  a  long  day's  work  and  the  Italian  convention 

289 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

which  forbade  their  walking  on  the  streets  alone 
in  the  evening.  The  frequency  with  which  the 
former  objection  was  heard  raises  the  question  as 
to  whether  it  would  be  wise  to  make  attendance  at 
evening  classes  compulsory. 

In  addition  to  our  failure  to  offer  these  immi- 
grants adequate  opportunities  for  bettering  them- 
selves we  have  not  sought  to  discover  what  their 
assets  were  on  their  arrival.  We  have  let  them 
shift  for  themselves  as  best  they  might.  What 
trade  training  they  have  had  has  not  been  put  to 
use.  For  example,  few  of  the  Italian  women  in- 
vestigated who  had  learned  to  do  fine  hand  em- 
broidery in  Italy  were  employed  on  a  process 
where  this  knowledge  was  of  value  to  them.  Al- 
though a  number  were  employed  in  the  needle 
trades,  the  majority  were  doing  unskilled  finishing. 

By  this  policy  of  laisse%  /aire,  then,  we  have 
failed  to  teach  them  our  language,  to  familiarize 
them  with  our  customs,  or  to  make  use  of  the 
assets  which  they  have  brought  with  them.  But 
worst  of  all,  we  have  let  die  that  ambition  and 
precious  spirit  of  initiative  which  led  these  immi- 
grants to  come  here.  While  we  have  been  busy 
arguing  about  literacy  tests  for  their  admittance, 
we  have  been  ignoring  the  much  more  vital  prob- 
lem of  what  to  do  with  them  after  their  arrival. 
Whether  an  immigrant  can  read  a  few  words  of 
his  own  language  when  he  reaches  this  country, 
or  whether  he  can  give  a  verbal  definition  of  de- 
mocracy is  not  the  important  point;   but  whether 

2QO 


READJUSTMENT 

he  can  speak  and  read  our  language  after  a  period 
of  two  or  three  years  and  whether  he  then  under- 
stands our  institutions  and  knows  our  laws — this 
should  be  our  chief  concern. 

Fortunately  there  is  a  brighter  side  to  the  pic- 
ture. We  have  lately  become  alive  to  our  short- 
comings, and  with  our  usual  energy  are  trying  to 
overcome  them.  Comprehensive  plans  for  as- 
similating the  immigrant  are  now  being  made 
by  various  organizations  on  a  nation-wide  scale. 
The  Department  of  the  Interior,  through  the 
State  Councils  of  Defense,  aims  to  reach  every 
community  where  there  is  a  colony  of  foreign- 
born  and  to  teach  them  English,  civics,  and  other 
subjects  that  will  develop  a  better  understanding 
of  their  new  country.  In  New  York  State  the 
Department  of  Education  is  extending  a  system  of 
evening  classes,  already  long  established,  espe- 
cially in  New  York  City,  and  has  put  before  the 
legislature  acts  which  are  intended  to  aid  this 
work.1  One  of  the  chief  efforts  of  the  New  York 
State  Woman's  Suffrage  Party  is  the  Americaniza- 
tion of  foreign-born  women  to  fit  them  to  be  more 

1  The  state  legislature  has  voted  an  appropriation  of  $20,000  to 
the  Commissioner  of  Education  "to  organize,  maintain,  and  operate 
training  institutions  and  regular  courses  of  study  in  connection  with 
the  state  normal  institutions  and  in  the  cities  of  the  state,  for  the 
purpose  of  training  regular  public  school  teachers  and  others  in  the 
best  methods  to  be  pursued  in  giving  instruction  to  illiterates  over 
sixteen  years  of  age." 

Another  act  requires  that  non-English  speaking  and  illiterate 
minors  between  sixteen  and  twenty-one  years  of  age  shall  attend 
some  public  day  or  evening  school  or  some  school  maintained  by  an 
employer.  The  acts  fall  short  in  that  they  make  no  provision  for 
the  establishment  of  such  public  day  or  evening  schools. 

201 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

intelligent  voting  citizens.  A  study  of  Ameri- 
canization, or  "Fusion  of  Native  and  Foreign- 
Born,"  undertaken  by  the  Carnegie  Corporation, 
will  enable  us  to  see  just  what  progress  we  have 
already  made  on  this  vital  question  and  how  best 
to  continue  the  work.1  These  are  but  a  few  of  the 
measures  now  being  taken  to  weld  into  a  homo- 
geneous nation  the  foreign  with  the  native  popu- 
lation, not  only  of  this  great  city,  but  of  the 
country  at  large. 

A  knowledge  of  English  is,  of  course,  but  the 
first  step  on  the  way.  It  is  the  key  by  which  the 
immigrant  can  understand  our  customs  and  ideals; 
but  until  social  and  industrial  conditions  which 
are  beyond  his  individual  control  have  been 
bettered,  so  that  in  his  own  life  he  can  reach  some 
of  our  standards,  his  assimilation  is  incomplete. 
Here  his  problem  merges  into  that  of  all  workers, 
whether  foreign  or  native  born.  Hitherto  organ- 
ized labor  as  a  whole  has  been  inclined  to  view  the 
immigrant  as  a  hostile,  ignorant  competitor.  If, 
instead  of  assuming  this  attitude,  trade  unionists 
were  to  teach  him  to  co-operate  in  their  efforts  to 
better  conditions  of  work  and  to  promote  sounder 
relations  between  employer  and  employe,  they 
would  help  to  reach  the  goal  of  an  "all  American" 
nation  at  the  same  time  that  they  were  strengthen- 
ing their  organization.     In  New  York  City  some 

'This  will  cover  such  subjects  as  schooling  for  the  immigrant 
(adult  and  juvenile),  adjustment  of  home  and  family  life  to  new  condi- 
tions, naturalization  and  political  training,  industrial  and  economic 
amalgamation,  and  contributions  from  the  immigrant. 

292 


READJUSTMENT 

progress  has  been  made  in  organizing  foreign- 
born  women,  though  among  the  Italians  it  has 
been  slow.  Recognizing  the  danger  to  their  stan- 
dards in  the  employment  of  newly  arrived  Italian 
women,  ignorant  of  the  language  and  trade  con- 
ditions, women  unionists  in  the  garment  indus- 
tries have  made  it  a  part  of  their  work  to  teach 
these  women  and  to  urge  them  to  join  their  organ- 
izations. Their  efforts  bore  fruit  in  the  men's 
clothing  strike  in  19 10,  when  women  who  could 
not  speak  a  word  of  English  stuck  loyally  to  the 
strike  to  the  end,  even  at  great  personal  sacrifice. 
Such  instances  as  this  prove  that  sincere  and  well- 
directed  efforts  toward  organization  are  likely  to 
meet  with  a  ready  response  from  these  women. 

The  state  also  can  do  its  part  in  fostering  better 
living  and  industrial  conditions  by  setting  up  cer- 
tain legal  minimum  standards  for  the  protection 
of  the  health  and  welfare  of  its  workers.  To  be 
effective,  however,  legislation  must  not  only  be 
adequately  enforced  by  representatives  of  the 
state  but  must  have  the  co-operation  of  employers 
and  employes  alike.  It  is  essential,  in  order  to 
gain  this  co-operation,  that  all  workers  be  in- 
structed in  the  provisions  of  the  laws.  For  im- 
migrant workers  this  is  especially  necessary.  A 
beginning  in  this  work  has  already  been  made  by 
the  Consumers'  League  of  New  York  City,  which 
has  been  co-operating  with  girls'  industrial  clubs 
and  other  groups  of  working  girls,  both  to  teach 
the  terms  of  the  labor  law  and  to  arouse  the  in- 

293 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

terest  of  the  girls  to  help  in  their  proper  enforce- 
ment. More  educational  work  of  this  character 
should  be  done  by  trade  unions,  clubs,  settle- 
ments, and  evening  schools  on  the  one  hand,  and 
by  far-seeing  employers  on  the  other.  These 
efforts  which  are  an  essential  part  of  any  Ameri- 
canization program  should  not  be  confined  to 
instruction  concerning  the  labor  law,  but  should 
include  also  information  as  to  industrial  oppor- 
tunities and  as  to  the  maintenance  of  high  in- 
dustrial standards. 

This  investigation  of  Italian  women  has  shown 
very  clearly  the  need  for  better  means  of  adjust- 
ment than  have  heretofore  been  provided  through 
the  efforts  of  either  the  state  or  organized  labor. 
Instead  of  chance  friends  to  show  her  what  jobs 
are  open  to  her,  what  wages  she  should  accept, 
and  what  conditions  she  may  expect,  the  Italian 
woman,  in  common  with  other  immigrants,  needs 
bureaus  of  information  and  employment  which 
shall  not  only  provide  a  job  promptly  but  shall  be 
able  to  fit  her  into  a  suitable  occupation.  The 
United  States  Employment  Service,  as  recently 
expanded,  should  do  much  to  meet  this  need. 
Strong,  healthy,  and  ambitious  men  and  women 
who  come  to  this  country  with  a  great  capacity 
for  work,  are  assets  too  valuable  for  us  to  waste. 
The  power  of  these  people  should  not  be  allowed 
to  deteriorate  for  lack  of  direction  to  proper  em- 
ployment, or  by  their  acceptance  of  lower  wages 
and  worse  conditions  than  would  be  accepted  by 

294 


READJUSTMENT 

workers  more  familiar  with  American  standards. 
Employment  for  long  hours  at  low-grade  work 
on  small  wages  prevents  them  from  taking  advan- 
tage of  educational  opportunities,  or  of  sharing,  in 
any  real  sense,  in  American  life.  It  is  a  vicious 
circle  that  can  be  broken  no  more  effectively  than 
by  the  establishment  of  minimum  standards  of  em- 
ployment for  all  workers. 

The  war  has  emphasized  the  necessity  for  adopt- 
ing such  standards.  The  government,  as  the  largest 
consumer,  assumed  the  responsibility  not  only  for 
establishing  but  also  for  enforcing  them.  It  has 
been  formulating  new  regulations  of  industry  and 
appointing  new  boards  to  administer  particular 
phases  of  industrial  problems.  The  recruiting  of 
workers  for  war  industries,  for  instance,  has  been 
centralized  in  the  system  of  federal  employment 
offices  which  has  been  extended  over  the  entire  coun- 
try. Home  work  on  soldiers'  uniforms  has  been 
abolished;  minimum  standards  of  shop  conditions, 
where  government  work  was  carried  on,  have  been 
defined.  The  principle  of  a  basic  eight-hour  day  has 
been  accepted;  wage  scales,  adequate  for  a  stan- 
dard of  decent  living,  have  been  established;  and 
the  right  of  workers  to  organize  has  been  affirmed. 
If  the  government  has  thought  it  important  to 
take  such  steps  in  war  time  for  the  purpose  of 
improving  and  speeding  production,  in  time  of 
peace  it  will  be  equally  essential  to  efficiency  to 
maintain  such  standards  as  shall  have  stood  the 
test. 

295 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  while  a  study  of  women 
workers  of  any  of  the  immigrant  nationalities  is  a 
study  of  a  special  class,  the  problems  that  confront 
the  particular  group  will  never  be  solved  until 
we  attack  along  the  entire  industrial  front.  The 
maladjustments  and  the  inequalities  of  industry, 
root  causes  of  industrial  unrest,  must  be  entirely 
removed  in  order  to  make  decent  living  and  an 
opportunity  for  the  development  of  happy,  use- 
ful citizens  more  generally  possible.  The  chief 
point  of  difference  between  the  problem  of  the 
native  and  of  the  immigrant  worker,  man  or  wo- 
man, is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  foreigner,  as  a 
rule,  gets  the  very  worst  end  of  an  already  bad 
bargain.  This  is  in  large  measure  due  to  his  or 
her  ignorance  and  the  lack  of  effective  effort  on 
our  part  to  dispel  it.  But  after  all  it  is  a  ques- 
tion solely  of  degree  of  difference.  The  problem 
for  either  alien  or  native  worker  is  fundamentally 
the  same;  that  is,  to  secure  a  fair  share  of  the 
fruits  of  his  labor,  under  conditions  conducive  to 
enjoyment  of  them.  Under  the  pressure  of  war 
some  significant  steps  toward  this  goal  have  been 
taken.  We  must  see  to  it,  however,  that  during 
the  troublous  period  of  reconstruction  such  con- 
structive gains  as  have  emerged  in  spite  of  the 
waste  of  the  great  war  shall  not  be  lost,  but  shall 
be  made  the  basis  of  further  progress  toward  in- 
dustrial justice. 


296 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  A 

SUPPLEMENTARY  STUDY  OF  ITALIAN 
WOMEN 

THIS  study  was  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  supple- 
menting the  investigation  of  Italian  working  women 
by  the  Division  of  Industrial  Studies  described  in  the 
foregoing  pages.  It  is  based  on  records  of  visits  made  by 
agents  of  the  International  Institute  for  Young  Women  of 
the'  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  to  894  newly  ar- 
rived Italian  women  during  the  year  extending  from  July  1, 
1912,  to  July  1,  1913.  The  purpose  of  the  International  Insti- 
tute, as  stated  in  its  annual  report,  is  "to  give  protection, 
instruction  and  advice,"  as  soon  after  landing  as  possible,  to 
all  immigrant  girls  who  arrive  alone  in  New  York.  Their 
names  are  secured  at  Ellis  Island  from  the  ships'  manifests. 
Each  girl  is  then  looked  up  by  an  Institute  visitor,  who  speaks 
her  language,  and  whose  object  in  calling  is  not  so  much  to 
record  information  regarding  the  girl  as  to  help  her  in  adjust- 
ing herself  to  her  new  surroundings.1 

COMPOSITION  OF  GROUP 

The  composition  of  this  group  of  Italian  women  is  different 
from  that  of  the  slightly  larger  one  investigated  by  the  Divi- 
sion of  Industrial  Studies.  The  894  women  visited  by  the 
International  Institute  were  all  born  in  Europe,  and  were  at 
least  fourteen  years  old  when  they  came  to  the  United  States. 
On  the  other  hand,  of  the  1,095  visited  in  the  larger  investi- 

1  A  copy  of  the  card  used  to  record  the  visit  will  be  found  on  page 
327  of  Appendix  B. 

20  299 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

gation,  though  all  were  of  Italian  parentage,  only  599  were 
themselves  Italian  born,  and  of  this  number  only  373  came 
to  the  United  States  after  reaching  the  age  of  fourteen,  so 
that  about  one-third  only  of  this  second  group  is  of  a  similar 
composition  and  in  the  strictest  sense  comparable  with  the 
International  Institute  group. 

At  the  time  when  the  International  Institute  information 
was  gathered,  the  women  had  been  in  this  country  from 
periods  varying  from  three  days  to  one  year,  29  per  cent  hav- 
ing been  here  less  than  one  month,  64  per  cent  less  than  two 
months,  and  81  per  cent  less  than  three.  This  study,  there- 
fore, shows  the  conditions  that  exist  among  our  most  recent 
immigrant  women,  these  Italians  having  had,  of  course, 
hardly  time  to  become  adjusted  to  their  new  surroundings. 
It  shows  us  the  characteristics  of  the  group  as  a  whole — the 
age,  family  relationship,  and  education  of  the  women,  their 
background  in  their  native  country,  how  it  has  shaped  their 
lives,  what  gifts  and  burdens  it  has  given  them  to  bring 
to  their  new  homes,  and  the  social  and  industrial  strata  in 
America  into  which  they  have  drifted. 

AGE  AND  CONJUGAL  CONDITION 

First,  these  immigrants  are  for  the  most  part  young.  One 
reason  for  the  preponderance  of  younger  women  in  this  group 
is  doubtless  that  being  young,  they  were  not  bound  by 
such  family  bonds  as  keep  older  women  tied  down  to  their 
homes.  They  were  freer  to  come  and  go  alone.  Further- 
more, it  was  easier  for  them  to  uproot  themselves  from  accus- 
tomed surroundings  and  adapt  themselves  to  the  transplant- 
ing in  new  ground.  The  fact  that  it  is  younger  women  who 
predominate  among  wage-earning  women  in  general  points 
to  the  likelihood  that  the  majority  of  these  women,  attracted 
by  tales  of  industrial  prosperity,  had  come  here  to  work. 
Table  i  gives  their  ages. 

The  ages  ranged  from  fourteen  to  fifty-six  years,  but  of  the 
891  reporting  as  shown  in  the  table,  712,  or  80  per  cent,  were 

300 


SUPPLEMENTARY    STUDY   OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN 

under  twenty-five,  and  of  the  179  who  were  twenty-five  years 
old  or  older,  147  were  under  thirty-five,  and  only  two  were 
over  thirty-nine. 


TABLE     I. — AGES    OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN    INVESTIGATED    BY    THE 
INTERNATIONAL  INSTITUTE,  JULY   I,    I9I2-JUNE  30,    I913 


Age 

Women 

Number 

Per  cent 

Less  than  16  years 

16  years  and  less  than  18       ... 

18  years  and  less  than  21 

21  years  and  less  than  25       ... 

25  years  and  less  than  35 

3  5  years  or  more 

1 

217 
302 
192 
•47 
32 

.1 

24.4 

33-9 

21.5 

16.5 

3.6 

Total 

89 1  a 

1 00.0 

a  Of  the  894  women  investigated,  three  did  not  state  age. 

As  a  natural  corollary  to  the  youth  of  the  majority  was  the 
large  proportion  of  unmarried  women;  92  per  cent  were 
single,  and  only  8  per  cent  married,  widowed,  or  deserted. 
Furthermore,  of  the  married  women,  about  one-half  had  been 
married  since  their  arrival  in  the  United  States,  the  expecta- 
tion of  marriage  having  been  the  cause  of  their  coming  to 
this  country. 

NATIVITY 

Though  the  women  with  a  few  exceptions  were  Italian 
born,  they  came  from  different  sections  of  Italy.  Because  of 
differences  in  the  character  of  the  people  from  the  various 
provinces,  it  is  worth  while  to  note  the  districts  of  their 
nativity.     Table  2  gives  these  facts. 

A  distinct  trend  in  the  Italian  immigration  of  the  last  few 
years  is  shown  in  the  large  number  coming  from  Sicily.  Al- 
most half  of  the  entire  number,  or  48.8  per  cent,  were  Sicilians. 
The  other  two  large  groups — southern  Italians  and  northern 
Italians — are  about  equal  in  number,  but  their  combined  sum 

301 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

is  slightly  less  than  the  group  from  Sicily.      The  southern 
Italians,  however,  because  of  similar  racial  characteristics, 

TABLE  2. — DISTRICT  OF  NATIVITY  OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN  INVESTI- 
GATED BY  THE  INTERNATIONAL  INSTITUTE,  JULY  I,  I912- 
JUNE  30,    I913 


District  of  nativity 

Women 

Number 

Per  cent 

Sicily  . 

4'3 

48.8 

Southern 

Italy  a 

199 

23? 

Northern 

Italya 

'95 

23.0 

Central  Italy 

27 

3-2 

Other  countries'3 

'3 

1-5 

Total 

847c 

1 00.0 

a  Southern  Italy  includes  Calabria,  Apulia,  Basilicata,  and  Cam- 
pagnia.  Northern  Italy  includes  Piedmont,  Lombardy,  Venetia, 
Emilia,  Liguria,  and  Tuscany.  Central  Italy  includes  Abruzzi  and 
Molise,  Latium  and  Marches. 

b  Other  countries  include  Austria,  France,  Spain,  and  Sardinia. 

cOf  the  894  women  investigated,  47  stated  that  they  were  born 
in  Italy,  but  did  not  state  the  district  of  nativity. 

should  properly,  if  they  are  grouped  at  all,  be  put  with  the 
Sicilians  rather  than  with  the  northern  Italians.  If  this  is 
done,  we  have  almost  three-fourths  of  the  total  number  in 
these  two  groups,  which  it  is  generally  conceded,  contribute 
a  less  desirable  element  to  our  population  than  do  the  north- 
ern Italians. 


LITERACY  OF  THE  WOMEN 

A  study  of  the  literacy  of  the  women  in  relation  to  the 
district  in  Italy  from  which  they  came  reveals  the  fact  that 
Sicily  contributed  an  undue  proportion  of  illiterates  as  com- 
pared with  the  various  districts  of  the  mainland.  The  Sicil- 
ians formed  68  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  illiterates, 
although  they  were  only  48  per  cent  of  the  entire  group 
studied.    The  facts  regarding  literacy  are  shown  in  Table  3. 

302 


SUPPLEMENTARY    STUDY    OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN 


TABLE  3. — LITERACY  OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN  INVESTIGATED  BY 
THE  INTERNATIONAL  INSTITUTE,  JULY  I,  I912-JUNE  30, 
I913,   BY  DISTRICT  OF  NATIVITY 


Women  who  were 

District  of  nativity 

Literate 

Illiterate 

All 
women 

Number 

Per  cent 

Number 

Percent 

Sicily        .               ... 
Southern  Italy 
Northern  Italy 
Central  Italy  . 
Other  countries 

216 

122 

1S0 

21 

10 

55-4 
66.3 
92.8 
84.0 
83.3 

174 
62 

14 
4 
2 

44.6 
33-7 

7-2 

16.0 

16.7 

390 
184 
194 

25 
12 

Total    . 

549 

68.2 

256 

3..8 

8o5a 

a  Of  the  894  women  investigated,  46  records  did  not  give  the  dis- 
trict of  nativity,  42  did  not  give  information  as  to  literacy,  and  one 
had  no  information  on  either  of  these  points. 

Forty-five  per  cent  of  the  women  born  in  Sicily  could  neither 
read  nor  write  their  native  language  or  any  other,  while  among 
the  southern  Italians  the  proportion  was  34  per  cent.  On  the 
other  hand,  central  Italy  had  only  16  per  cent  illiterate,  and 
northern  Italy  only  7  per  cent. 

The  ability  to  read  and  write  must  be  accepted  as  the  meas- 
ure of  the  girls'  education,  since  the  information  called  for  on 
the  cards  regarding  schooling  was  found  to  be  too  variously 
interpreted  to  be  of  great- value.  The  records  show  that  281 
girls  had  attended  "primary"  school,  and  two  "high  school"; 
but  the  Italian  and  American  school  systems  are  too  widely- 
divergent  for  us  to  be  able  to  judge  the  education  of  these 
girls  according  to  American  standards  of  high  and  primary 
schools.  For  216  women  we  have  information  as  to  the  num- 
ber of  years  they  were  in  school.  These  periods  varied  from 
one  to  ten  years,  with  the  largest  number,  94,  attending  for 
three  years,  the  next,  47  for  five  years,  and  the  third  in  size, 
39  for  two  years.  Two  hundred  and  seventy-two  women  had 
never  attended  school  and  107  gave  no  information  whatso- 

303 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

ever  on  this  point.  Ten  girls  reported  their  age  at  leaving 
school,  and  five  made  such  vague  statements  as  "teacher's 
education,"  or  "little."  The  only  summary  possible  from 
such  uncertain  data  is  that  of  the  787  women  giving  any  in- 
formation on  this  question,  515,  or  65  per  cent,  had  attended 
school  of  some  kind,  and  272,  or  35  per  cent,  had  never  at- 
tended school.  The  test  of  literacy  though  crude  is,  therefore, 
most  valuable  in  corroborating  the  more  or  less  inaccurate 
information  as  to  the  school  education  of  the  entire  group. 
The  figures  in  Table  3  show  31.8  per  cent  of  illiterates,  which 
bear  out  the  proportion  (35  per  cent)  who  had  never  at- 
tended school.  Of  the  68.2  per  cent  who  were  literate,  the 
literacy  represents  a  knowledge  of  Italian,  not  English.  Out 
of  the  total  of  894,  only  five  had  even  a  speaking  knowledge 
of  English. 

REASONS  FOR  EMIGRATION 
Some  insight  into  the  home  surroundings  from  which  these 
girls  came  can  be  secured  from  the  mere  recounting  of  the 
reasons  for  their  having  left  them.  That  646  came  because 
of  economic  reasons  is  significant,  even  though  these  reasons 
may  not  in  all  cases  imply  actual  economic  pressure.  That 
pressure  is  implied  in  a  great  majority  of  cases  is  substan- 
tiated, however,  by  the  statements  made  by  the  women, 
which  were  a  monotonous  repetition  of  "hard  times,"  "poor 
living  conditions,"  "family  needed  help,"  or  "father  unable 
to  support  family."  Of  this  group  279  emigrated  to  begin 
their  work  careers;  238  who  had  already  worked  in  Italy 
had  hopes  of  earning  higher  wages  here;  86  for  the  express 
purpose  of  making  money  to  help  or  to  support  entirely  their 
families  in  Italy;  24  wanted  to  earn  enough  money  for  a 
dowry;  and  19  found  the  field  of  work  in  Italy  too  narrowly 
circumscribed,  and  were  seeking  more  varied  opportunities 
in  "pastures  new."  All  the  646  girls  needed  to  cam  a  living. 
More  than  half  of  the  804  women  had  worked  in  Italy  before 
coming  to  this  country,  but  401  had  never  done  so.  The  occu- 
pations of  those  who  had  been  employed  in  Italy  were  in 

304 


SUPPLEMENTARY    STUDY   OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN 

order  of  importance,  dressmaking,  farm  work,  domestic  or 
personal  service,  textile  manufacturing,  hand  embroidery, 
and  a  small  group  of  miscellaneous  unrelated  occupations  of 
such  variety  as  fruit  peddling,  teaching,  and  the  manufacture 
of  matches.  An  interesting  fact  which  indicates  an  adapta- 
tion of  employment  to  season  is  the  item  "dressmaking  in 
winter;  farm  work  in  summer,"  thus  showing  how  these 
women  solve  their  seasonal  problem.  Practically  no  trust- 
worthy data  on  wages  were  available,  although  occasionally 
such  entries  as  "6  cents  a  day,"  "  10  cents  a  day,"  "  14  cents 
a  day,"  or  even  "20  cents  a  day,"  show  the  extremely  small 
sums  earned. 

The  other  reasons  for  coming  to  this  country  have  been 
classed  together  as  personal,  for  though  the  element  of 
economic  pressure  might  have  entered  in,  the  cause  was 
family  and  social  relationship.  The  largest  group  in  this 
class  had  wished  to  join  relatives  already  here.  The  large 
number  in  this  group  shows  the  strong  family  feeling  of  the 
Italian.  Sometimes  a  sister  came  to  keep  house  for  unmar- 
ried brothers,  sometimes  a  girl  left  alone  through  the  death 
of  parents  came  to  an  aunt  or  uncle  who  had  settled  here; 
sometimes  a  girl  homesick  for  a  certain  member  of  her  family 
came  to  join  him  or  her,  entering  the  industrial  field  here 
instead  of  in  Italy.  The  next  largest  group  came  to  find  hus- 
bands. Two-thirds  of  the  women  had  definite  prospects  in 
view,  a  number  marrying  immediately  after  landing,  while 
the  remainder  cherished  hopes  that  after  arriving  here  they 
might  find  a  man  who  would  want  to  marry  them.  They  were 
for  the  most  part  in  the  twenties  and  early  thirties — ages  at 
which,  according  to  Italian  standards,  the  prospects  of  mar- 
riage are  getting  slimmer  and  slimmer,  as  the  ideal  of  Italians 
is  an  early  marriage  for  their  women.  Another  cause  for 
immigration  was  the  death  of  a  parent  or  husband  which 
led  the  woman  in  question  to  desire  a  change  of  surround- 
ings, as  well  as  wider  opportunities  for  self-support.  Some- 
times unhappy  home  conditions — maltreatment  by  a  father, 

305 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

dislike  of  a  stepmother — led  the  girl  to  leave  home;  a  few 
naively  said  that  curiosity  to  see  this  country  had  brought 
them  here.  Table  4  shows  the  reasons  given  for  coming  to 
the  United  States,  by  age  groups. 

TABLE  4. — REASONS  FOR  COMING  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF 
ITALIAN  WOMEN  INVESTIGATED  BY  THE  INTERNATIONAL 
INSTITUTE,  JULY    I,    I9I2-JUNE   30,    I913,    BY  AGE 


Women  who  were 

Reason  for  coming 

Less 
than 

16 
years 

16  and 

less 

than 

18 

18  and 

less 

than 

21 

21  and 
less 
than 

25 

25  and 

less 

than 

35 

35 
years 

or 
more 

All 
wom- 
en 

Economic  Reasons 
To  work  or  make  more 

money 
To  help  family  in  Italy 
To  earn  dowry 
To  find  different  work 

1 

129 
20 

7 

177 

36 

6 

S 

117 
16 
12 
3 

74 
1 1 
4 
4 

19 
3 

517 
86 
24 
19 

Total      .... 

1 

158 

224 

148 

93 

22 

646 

Personal  Reasons 
To  join  relatives  . 
To  get  married  4. 
Family  death  or  quarrel 
Miscellaneous 

29 
5 

14 
8 

40 
17 
13 
6 

12 

2i 

6 

17 
26 
9 

4 
2 

4 

102 
73 
40 
18 

Total      .... 

56 

76 

43 

54 

10 

239 

Grand  total 

1 

214 

300 

191 

147 

32 

885» 

*  Of  the  894  women  investigated,  three  did  not  state  age,  and  six  did  not 
;ive  reason  for  coming  to  the  United  States. 


A  large  number  of  women  twenty-five  years  of  age  and 
over  came  here  for  economic  causes.  We  are  apt  to  think 
that  the  young  girls  come  to  work,  and  the  older  women  to 
join  their  families.  It  is  true  that  the  women  twenty-five 
years  of  age  and  over  formed  a  larger  percentage  of  all 
those  coming  for  "personal  reasons"  than  of  those  coming 
for  "economic  reasons."  On  the  other  hand,  however,  64.2 
per  cent  of  them  came  here  to  begin  or  to  continue  their  work 
careers,  a  proportion  large  enough  to  be  significant,  though 
the  percentages  in  the  younger  groups  are  higher — 74  per 
cent  among  those  under  eighteen  years,  74.7  per  cent  among 

}o6 


SUPPLEMENTARY    STUDY   OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN 

those  between  eighteen  and  twenty-one,  and  77.5  per  cent 
among  those  between  twenty-one  and  twenty-five.  As 
among  the  younger  women,  some  of  these  older  ones  had 
had  experience  in  a  trade,  and  some  had  never  worked  before. 
The  fact,  however,  that  a  large  proportion  of  these  did  come 
with  the  expectation  of  engaging  in  gainful  occupations  is 
evidence  that  we  have  not  only  the  young  inexperienced 
immigrant  girl  to  deal  with  in  questions  of  women's  work, 
but  also  the  older,  often  inexperienced,  and  usually  unskilled 
woman. 

DEPENDENTS 

The  financial  burdens,  aside  from  self-support,  which  these 
women  brought  with  them  were  often  very  heavy.  Only  86 
gave  definitely  as  their  reason  for  coming  to  this  country 
that  they  had  to  help  support  their  families,  but  an  analysis 
made  of  those  dependent  on  them  shows  that  164  had  rela- 
tives in  Italy  wholly  dependent  on  them  for  support,  and 
266  had  relatives  partially  dependent  on  them.  Only  five 
were  supporting  anyone  in  the  United  States.  This  makes 
a  total  of  430 — almost  half  the  entire  number — who  were 
obliged  to  stretch  their  meager  earnings  to  cover  their  own 
living  expenses  and  a  contribution  to  the  support  of  their 
families  in  Italy.  This  dependence  of  a  large  number  of 
families  either  parti)'  or  wholly  on  the  earnings  of  their  women 
members  is  only  another  indication  of  the  poverty-stricken 
homes  from  which  they  came.  It  means,  too,  another  handi- 
cap in  their  struggle  in  the  industrial  world  which  they  entered 
upon  their  arrival  in  this  country.  The  knowledge  that  others 
were  relying  for  their  bread  and  butter  on  her  earnings  made 
a  girl  readier  to  accept  the  first  work  and  wages  which  were 
offered.  And  the  privations  which  she  had  to  undergo  because 
of  her  reduced  income  for  personal  maintenance  made  her  less 
fit  to  endure  the  strain  of  daily  work. 

A  smaller  number  had  yet  another  financial  burden  to 
carry — that  of  debt  contracted  for  passage  money.  About 
20  per  cent,  or  175  of  the  881   reporting,  had  borrowed  the 

307 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

money  with  which  they  paid  for  the  journey  to  the  United 
States.  With  the  exception  of  1 1  cases  this  money  was  loaned 
by  relatives.  The  debt  did  not  have  to  be  paid  back  imme- 
diately, or  in  a  lump  sum,  as  is  shown  in  the  note  reappearing 
frequently  on  the  cards — "must  pay  back  as  she  is  able" — 
but  it  was  a  definite  obligation  which  was  a  further  drain  on 
her  small  income.  A  few  who  had  contracted  no  money  debt 
for  their  passage  had  to  pay  for  it  in  service.  These  were  not 
counted  in  the  number  who  borrowed  money  for  that  purpose. 
One  girl  whose  passage  had  been  paid  by  her  present  employer 
had  to  work  for  him  at  a  nominal  wage  as  a  domestic  servant. 
Another  whose  aunt  and  uncle  undertook  the  expense  of 
bringing  her  to  New  York  had  to  bear  the  entire  burden  of 
the  housework  in  their  boarding-house  without  receiving  any 
remuneration  except  her  maintenance.  The  husband  of  an- 
other woman,  who  was  still  in  Italy,  paid  her  passage,  and 
in  return  she  had  to  earn  enough  money  to  pay  for  his.  When 
visited  she  was  working  in  a  factory  at  $4.00  a  week. 

Of  course  a  much  larger  number — 608  in  all— had  their 
passage  paid  by  some  member  of  the  family  without  their 
incurring  any  obligation  to  repay  this  outlay.  Ninety-eight 
women  used  their  own  money,  one  selling  some  property  she 
owned  in  Italy  in  order  to  raise  it. 

RELATIVES  IN  THIS  COUNTRY 

Though  these  women  had  all  crossed  the  Atlantic  alone, 
in  all  except  19  cases  where  they  were  met  by  friends,  and 
in  two  where  the  girl  was  met  by  her  fiance,  they  were  "dis- 
charged" by  the  Ellis  Island  authorities  to  relatives — over 
half  of  them  to  brothers  and  sisters,  about  a  fifth  to  aunts 
or  uncles,  and  the  rest  to  cousins.  Almost  all  these  women 
thus  had  relatives  sufficiently  interested  to  undertake  the 
responsibility  of  their  not  becoming  "public  charges."  A 
tabulation  of  their  nearest  relatives  living  in  New  York,  as 
given  in  Table  5,  shows  slightly  different  results. 

308 


SUPPLEMENTARY    STUDY   OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN 

TABLE  5. — NEAREST  RELATIVE  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  OF  ITALIAN 
WOMEN  INVESTIGATED  BY  THE  INTERNATIONAL  INSTITUTE 
JULY    I,    I9I2-JUNE    30,    I913 


Nearest  relative 


Father  or  mother 
Husband 
Brother  or  sister 
Aunt,  uncle  or  cousin 
Child   .... 
None  .    •    . 


Total 


Women 


22 

34 

568 

253 
2 

'4 


893a 


a  Of  the  894  women  investigated,  one  did  not  give  information  on 
this  point. 

Only  one  girl  was  discharged  to  her  father  and  none  to  her 
mother,  but  22  had  one  parent  or  the  other  living  in  New 
York.  Thirty-four  had  husbands  here  at  the  time  of  investi- 
gation, but  only  17  at  the  time  of  arrival,  while  not  one  had 
been  discharged  to  her  husband.  The  group  of  sisters  and 
brothers  is  even  larger  in  this  classification  than  in  the  other, 
and  of  aunts  and  uncles  somewhat  smaller.  Only  two  women 
had  children  in  New  York,  but  21  had  left  them  in  Italy  to 
be  taken  care  of  by  relatives,  though  in  every  case  the  mother 
was  to  send  money  back  for  the  support  of  the  child,  even 
though  it  had  been  left  in  the  care  of  its  father.  Only  14 
had  no  relatives  in  New  York.  The  fact  that  practically  all 
these  women  did  have  some  family  ties  in  this  city  is  im- 
portant, first,  because  it  is  a  strong  factor  in  keeping  them 
from  scattering  to  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  and, 
second,  because  it  determines  the  character  of  their  social 
life,  and  even  of  their  wage-earning  activities.  The  first  is 
demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  only  four  women  went  farther 
than  New  York  in  seeking  their  new  homes. 

In  regard  to  the  home  surroundings  of  these  women  we 
have  already  seen  that  almost  all  had  relatives  here.  Only 
29,  when  visited,  were  living  in  what  is  considered  the  normal 
family  group;  that  is,  made  up  of  mother,  father,  and  children. 

309 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 


In  only  four  households  was  the  head  the  father  of  the  girl, 
and  in  25  her  husband.  Table  6  shows  the  relation  to  the 
girls  of  the  heads  of  the  households  in  which  they  were  living 
at  the  time  of  investigation. 

TABLE  6. — RELATIONSHIP  OF  HEADS  OF  HOUSEHOLDS  TO  ITALIAN 
WOMEN  VISITED  BY  THE  INTERNATIONAL  INSTITUTE  JULY  I, 
I9I2-JUNE  30,    19 1  3 


Women 

Number 

Per  cent 

Father 
Husband    . 
Sister  or  brother 
Brother-in-law  . 
Aunt  or  uncle    . 
Cousin 

Other  relatives 
Friend 
Employer  . 

4 

25 

258 

187 

199 

132 

6 

50 

29 

•5 
2.8 
29.0 
21.0 
22.3 
14.8 

•7 
5-6 

3-3 

Total 

890a 

100.0 

a  Of  the  894  women  investigated,  four  records  did  not  give  in- 
formation on  this  point. 

The  largest  group  was  living  with  brothers  and  sisters.  It 
constituted  29  per  cent  of  the  total,  which,  added  to  the 
21  per  cent  of  brothers-in-law,  makes  a  total  of  50  per  cent 
living  with  brothers  and  either  single  or  married  sisters.  Of 
the  other  groups,  that  made  up  of  the  women  living  with 
their  employers  is,  though  small,  the  most  interesting.  They 
were  in  all  cases  engaged  in  domestic  service.  Some  had  their 
headquarters  at  a  cousin's  or  friend's  house  where  they  prob- 
ably went  on  their  "days  off."  It  is  noteworthy,  however, 
that  these  relatives  or  friends  rarely  knew  the  name  or  address 
of  the  girl's  employer,  and  hence  would  have  had  no  way  of 
tracing  her  had  she  dropped  out  of  sight.  Five  employers 
were  also  relatives  who  kept  boarding-houses  and  found  it 
profitable  to  have  a  relative  as  general  houseworker,  judging 

310 


SUPPLEMENTARY    STUDY    OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN 

from  the  wages  paid  to  these  women  who,  according  to  their 
own  reports,  were  doing  the  greater  part  of  the  work  of  the 
entire  house.  Three  out  of  the  five  received  only  maintenance 
in  return  for  their  very  taxing  labors. 

COST  OF  ROOM  AND  BOARD 
Data  regarding  that  important  part  of  a  working  girl's 
budget — the  amount  paid  for  board — are  always  difficult  to 
secure  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  or  for  very  large  groups. 
In  the  case  of  the  International  Institute  records  this  is  true. 
Because  of  variety  in  the  manner  of  statement,  the  impossi- 
bility of  measuring  some  of  the  estimates  in  money,  and  the 
large  number  not  giving  any  information  on  this  point,  it 
was  found  impossible  to  tabulate  the  material  so  as  to  give 
fair  or  just  results.  One  point,  however,  of  special  interest 
is  that  a  large  number  of  these  immigrant  Italian  girls  had 
gone  to  homes  where  they  did  not  have  to  pay  board  for  a 
time,  at  least,  after  their  arrival  in  this  country.  Ninety-two 
had  free  board  without  any  restriction,  with  relatives  or 
friends,  though  this  number  included  about  20  women  living 
with  and  supported  by  their  husbands.  For  135  it  was  "free 
at  present,"  meaning  probably  that  it  would  be  free  until 
employment  was  secured  or  adjustment  to  new  conditions 
effected;  123  gave  in  return  for  board  some  slight  service  or 
help  with  the  housework.  Again,  we  have  the  women  in 
domestic  service  whose  board  was  part  of  their  wages.  There 
was  also  a  small  group  of  39  who  shared  expenses  equally 
with  those  with  whom  they  lived.  Amounts  actually  given 
for  board  were  ridiculously  small.  Furthermore,  in  all  in- 
stances, the  recipients  of  this  money  were  relatives  or  friends. 
Indications  were  that  these  Italian  girls  were  not  heavily 
taxed  for  their  living  expenses,  and  were  really  subsidized  by 
their  relatives  and  friends  who  had  already  settled  here,  for 
surely  the  latter  could  not  have  found  it  profitable  to  board 
anyone  for  $1.50  or  $2.00  a  week,  which  were  the  amounts 
given  in  a  majority  of  the  230  cases  recorded.    These  data, 

311 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

then,  while  they  prove  nothing  definite  concerning  either  the 
average  or  the  minimum  cost  of  living  for  other  immigrant 
working  girls,  showed  that  the  expenses  of  these  Italians  for 
food  and  shelter  were  negligibly  small;  and  while  this  fact 
made  it  easier  for  them  to  make  both  ends  meet,  it  also  made 
it  easier  for  them  to  accept  a  wage  that  would  mean  starva- 
tion to  a  girl  who  had  to  support  herself  entirely  through  her 
own  efforts,  thus  tending  to  keep  down  the  level  of  women's 
wages. 

AMERICANIZATION 

Of  their  desire  to  become  Americanized  something  can 
be  learned  from  their  attitude  toward  joining  the  English 
classes  of  the  International  Institute.  Of  those  who  expressed 
themselves  on  the  subject  466,  or  54  per  cent,  desired  to  join 
a  class  to  learn  English;  33,  or  3  per  cent,  were  undecided  as 
to  whether  they  wished  to  enroll  or  not;  370  women,  or  43 
per  cent,  did  not  care  to  join.  The  fact  that  so  large  a  per- 
centage of  the  entire  group  did  not  care  to  grasp  this  par- 
ticular opportunity  of  learning  the  language  of  their  new 
country  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  they  were  altogether 
indifferent  to  learning  it,  although  of  the  entire  number  only 
five  already  had  a  knowledge  of  the  language.  While  a  cer- 
tain apathy  exists  among  this  class  of  immigrant  girls  toward 
taking  what  means  are  at  hand  for  their  assimilation  in  our 
American  life,  a  powerful  extenuating  circumstance  is  to  be 
found  in  the  long  hours  that  they  work,  which  leave  them 
little  energy  for  an  evening  of  study.  Some  of  the  reasons 
given  by  those  not  joining  the  classes  bring  out  interesting 
facts  and  standards.  A  large  number  found  the  Institute 
classes  too  far  away  to  attend,  and  some  girls  were  probably 
already  attending  classes  in  the  public  evening  schools.  It  is 
noteworthy  that  though  31.8  per  cent  of  the  entire  group  were 
illiterate,  the  illiterate  women  formed  as  much  as  51  per  cent 
of  those  not  joining  and  only  16  per  cent  of  those  who  did 
join.  Many  of  the  women  who  thought  English  "too  hard" 
or  themselves  "too  old"  to  learn  were  of  this  illiterate  group. 

312 


SUPPLEMENTARY    STUDY    OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN 

Of  23  who  considered  themselves  "too  old,"  five  were  be- 
tween twenty-five  and  thirty  years  of  age,  1 1  between  thirty 
and  thirty-five,  and  seven  between  thirty-five  and  forty-two. 
It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  the  added  handicap  of  illiteracy 
was  a  factor  in  assigning  this  ground. 

OCCUPATIONS 

Of  the  industrial  life  of  these  women  the  records  give  per- 
haps the  most  significant  information.  We  have  already  seen 
that  about  half  had  already  worked  at  some  gainful  occupa- 
tion before  coming  to  the  United  States.  After  their  arrival 
in  this  country  an  even  greater  number — 608,  or  70  per  cent 
of  those  reporting — were  employed  at  some  paid  work,  and 
135  more  were  hoping  to  obtain  employment,  though  they 
had  not  been  able  to  do  so  at  the  time  of  the  investigator's 
visit.  Only  1 1 1  did  not  intend  to  work,  and  of  this  number, 
i)2  had  not  worked  previously.  Table  7  correlates  the  occu- 
pations of  these  women  in  Italy  and  America. 

Of  the  203  women  who  had  been  employed  at  dressmaking 
and  other  kinds  of  sewing  in  Italy,  121,  or  almost  three-fifths, 
were  working  in  the  manufacture  of  clothing  in  America. 
As  the  majority  of  this  group  in  the  clothing  trades  were  hand 
finishers  rather  than  machine  operators,  the  connection  be- 
tween the  occupations  here  and  in  the  "old  country"  is  evi- 
dent. The  second  largest  occupational  group  in  Italy,  that 
of  144  farm  workers,  naturally  found  no  similar  labor  in  this 
city.  The  largest  section  from  this  group  was  found  in  the 
tobacco  industry,  the  second  in  the  clothing  trades,  and  the 
third  in  laundry  work.  In  the  other  occupational  divisions 
the  groups  were  too  small  to  indicate  a  trend.  Of  the  1 1 
women  who  had  been  engaged  in  hand  embroidery,  a  really 
skilled  occupation  in  Italy,  only  one  continued  in  it  in  the 
United  States.  Of  those  employed  in  domestic  service  in 
Italy,  about  one-third  continued  that  work  in  this  country. 
Another  interesting  feature  of  this  correlation  of  the  two  occu- 
pations is  the  large  number,   131,  working  in  the  clothing 

313 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

trades  who  had  never  before  been  gainfully  employed,  an 
apparent  indication  of  the  unskilled  nature  of  these  trades. 


TABLE  7. — OCCUPATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  ITALIAN 
WOMEN  INVESTIGATED  BY  THE  INTERNATIONAL  INSTITUTE, 
JULY    I,    I9I2-JUNE  30,    1913,   BY  OCCUPATION   IN   ITALY 


Women 

whose  occupation  in  Italy  was 

Dom- 

Occupation in  the 
United  States 

None 

Sew- 
ing 

Hand 
em- 
broid- 
ery 

Tex- 
tile 
manu- 
fac- 
ture 

Farm 
work 

estic 
and 
per- 
sonal 
ser- 
vice 

Mis- 
cel- 
lan- 
eous 

All 
women 

Manufacturing 
Clothing  . 
Artificial  flow- 
ers and  feath- 

131 

121 

6 

6 

20 

1 1 

1 

296 

ers 
Headwear 
Hand  embroid- 

10 

4 

4 

1 

19 

4 

ery 

Tobacco  . 

Candy 

Other  food- 
stuffs   . 

Paper  goods    . 

Textiles    . 

All  other  manu- 
facturing 

M 
13 
13 

13 
3 
3 

6 

4 
6 

1 

4 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

41 

4 

1 
3 

3 

1 
1 

1 

20 
64 
24 

16 
8 
8. 

12 

Total 

206 

146 

7 

12 

78 

17 

5 

4/1 

Domestic      and 

PE  RSON A  L 

SERVICE 

Domestic  ser- 

vice 
Laundry  work 
Hotel  and  res- 
taurant work 
Day's  work 
Hairdressing    . 

5 
14 

1 

7 

1 
1 

1 

0 
15 

21 
3 

1 

43 

!.? 

I 

Total 

22 

9 

3 

31 

31 

2 

98 

Store  work 

1  lOMK  WORK 

Not  yet  work- 

7 
12 

1 
13 

1 

1 

4 

8 
31 

ing  . 
Not     intending 

62 

28 

3 

4 

24 

9 

5 

1.15 

TO  WORK. 

02 

6 

7 

S 

1 

1  1  1 

Grand  total 

40  ] 

203 

1  1 

20 

144 

62 

13 

854  a 

*<)f  the  804  women  investigated,  40  did  not  give  information  as  to  their 
CM  1  up  itlon  either  in  Italy  or  in  the  United  States. 

3'4 


SUPPLEMENTARY    STUDY    OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN 

The  small  number  employed  in  stores  in  this  country  is  readily 
explained  when  the  ignorance  of  the  English  language  pre- 
vailing in  the  entire  group  of  women  is  taken  into  account. 

As  to  the  method  of  securing  their  positions,  it  is  a  case 
of  the  exception  proving  the  rule.  Out  of  the  608  women 
gainfully  employed  when  visited,  only  four  had  secured  their 
positions  through  agencies — all  of  these  in  domestic  service — 
and  only  three  through  advertisements.  All  the  rest  who  gave 
information  on  this  point  had  obtained  work  through  either 
relatives  or  friends.  Hence  it  may  be  seen  how  important 
both  these  are  in  the  industrial  as  well  as  in  the  social  life  of 
an  immigrant.  They  make  every  possible  effort  to  get  a 
"job"  for  their  newly  arrived  sister,  niece,  or  cousin. 

As  might  be  assumed  from  the  unskilled  nature  of  the 
work  at  which  most  of  these  women  were  engaged,  the  wages 
were  low.  Of  the  608  women  gainfully  employed,  493  gave 
information  as  to  the  "pay"1  received;  but  41  of  these,  em- 
ployed in  domestic  service,  received  entire  or  partial  main- 
tenance in  addition  to  their  money  wage,  and  hence  have 
been  omitted  from  the  wage  tabulation.  The  nine  home 
workers  who  stated  their  earnings  have  also  been  left  out, 
as  for  obvious  reasons  their  "pay"  is  not  comparable  with 
that  of  women  working  outside  the  home.  After  deducting 
these  two  groups,  a  total  of  443  is  left  whose  wages  were  stated. 
For  this  number  the  median  wage  was  $5.49.  Table  8  gives 
the  facts  as  to  wages. 

This  table  brings  out  the  prevalence  of  a  low  wage  scale 
for  the  type  of  work  in  which  these  women  were  employed  on 
first  arriving  in  this  country.  As  many  as  63.6  per  cent  were 
earning  less  than  $6.00,  and  90.9  per  cent  less  than  $8.00  a 
week.  When  we  consider  that  $9.00  has  been  generallv  ac- 
cepted as  the  lowest  wage  on  which  a  girl  can  live  in  New 
York  City  and  maintain  a  decent  standard,  the  small  propor- 

1  With  the  week  workers  this  "pay,"  as  it  is  called  on  the  record 
card,  was  evidently  the  wage  rate,  and  with  the  piece  workers  it 
denotes  the  usual  earnings.  Of  421  women  stating  method  of  pay- 
ment, 291  were  week  workers,  and  130  piece  workers. 

315 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

tion  of  these  women,  only  9.1  per  cent,  earning  $8.00  or  more 
shows  more  vividly  than  anything  else  could,  the  hopeless 

TABLE  8. — WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  ITALIAN  WOMEN   INVESTIGATED 
BYTHE  INTERNATIONAL  INSTITUTE  JULY  I,  I9I2-JUNE  30,  I913 


Women  employed 
in 

All  women 

Weekly  wages 

Cloth- 
ing 

trades 

All  other 
occupa- 
tions11 

Number 

Per 
cent 

Less  than  $3    . 

$3  and  less  than  $4 

$4  and  less  than  $5 

$5  and  less  than  $6 

$6  and  less  than  $8 

$8  and  less  than  $10 

$10  and  less  than  $12    . 

$12  or  more     .... 

3 
23 

47 
62 
81 

19 

2 
2 

13b 

16 
62 
56 
40 
>5 
3 

16 

39 
109 
118 
121 
33 
5 
2 

3.6 

8.8 

24.6 

26.6 

27-3 

7-5 

1.1 

•5 

All  women  .... 

239 

204 

443c 

1 00.0 

■  a  Includes  tobacco,  56;  all  other  manufacturing  occupations,  95; 
domestic  service,  48;   stores,  five. 

b  Twelve  of  these  were  learners  not  paid  while  learning  the  trade. 

c  Of  the  894  women  investigated,  256  had  not  yet  found  employ- 
ment or  were  not  intending  to  work,  186  did  not  give  information  as 
to  pay,  and  nine  were  employed  at  home  work. 

inadequacy  of  their  wages.  Only  36.4  per  cent,  a  little  more 
than  a  third,  earned  even  $6.00  or  more.  Throughout  all  the 
industries  and  occupations  in  which  these  girls  were  employed 
the  same  low  level  of  wages  prevails.  It  has,  therefore,  not 
seemed  worth  while  to  divide  the  second  group  in  Table  8 
into  its  smaller  component  parts.  The  preponderance  of 
workers  in  the  clothing  trades  is  so  great  that  they  have  been 
separated  from  the  rest,  although  the  distribution  of  wage 
groups  is  much  the  same  as  in  the  other  occupations.  The 
significant  fact  brought  out  by  the  table  is  not  so  much  the 
kind  of  Industries  in  which  the  women  were  engaged  as  that 
so  large  a  proportion  of  those  belonging  to  a  nationality  as 

Il6 


SUPPLEMENTARY    STUDY    OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN 

important  in  immigration  as  the  Italian  were  not  receiving 
even  a  bare  subsistence  wage.  Despite  the  low  standard  of 
living  which  prevailed  to  a  great  extent  in  this  group,  it  was 
inevitable  that  these  women,  unable  to  live  on  their  own 
earnings,  should  be  subsidized  either  by  their  relatives,  as 
has  been  seen  in  the  matter  of  board  and  lodging,  or  by 
other  means. 

Among  those  earning  less  than  $3.00  were  the  1 2  girl  appren- 
tices in  the  tobacco  industry.  They  were  paid  nothing  while 
learning  the  trade.  In  fact  almost  all  of  them  had  paid  $5.00 
for  the  privilege  of  learning  this  trade. 

An  evidence  that  ignorance  of  our  customs  placed  these 
women  at  a  disadvantage  in  the  labor  market  is  found  in  the 
statement  made  frequently  by  girls  who  had  just  started  work, 
that  they  did  not  know  what  their  "pay"  would  be,  as  their 
first  pay  day  had  not  come  around  yet.  Apparently  there 
was  no  understanding  on  this  point  when  the  position  was 
first  secured. 

The  weekly  hours  of  work  could  not  be  obtained  from  the 
records,  since  they  did  not  show  whether  Saturday  was  a 
short  working  day.  In  a  majority  of  the  cases,  however,  the 
daily  hours  were  given.  These  were  from  eight  to  six  o'clock, 
or  from  seven  forty-five  to  five  forty-five,  with  an  hour  off 
at  noon.  There  was  a  great  number  of  variations  from  the 
usual  day,  however,  always  tending  to  longer  rather  than 
shorter  hours.  The  most  flagrant  example  of  exhaustingly 
long  hours  was  the  case  of  a  sixteen-year-old  girl,  who  worked 
as  a  shaker  in  the  laundry  of  a  large  and  fashionable  hotel. 
She  started  at  five-thirty  in  the  morning  and  worked  until 
eight-thirty  at  night  with  an  hour's  intermission  at  noon — a 
total  of  fourteen  hours'  steady  labor.  For  this  work  she  was 
paid  $6.00.  This  was  an  extreme  case,  but  many  of  these 
poorly  paid  immigrant  girls  worked  excessive  hours  in  fac- 
tories, to  say  nothing  of  those  engaged  in  domestic  service. 

To  sum  up  the  industrial  data  which  these  records  give,  we 
have  in  this  group  typical  young  immigrant  girls,  many  of  them 

3'7 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

illiterate,  going  to  work  immediately  after  their  arrival  in  more 
or  less  unskilled  occupations  at  extremely  low  wages,  which 
they  were  able  to  accept  only  because  they  could  rely  for  actual 
food  and  shelter  on  relatives  already  here,  and  from  which  they 
often  had  to  send  a  goodly  sum  to  help  support  relatives  in 
Italy.  Thus,  instead  of  raising  their  standard  of  living  to  that 
of  the  new  country  to  which  they  had  come,  often  with  high 
hopes,  they  were  forced  to  remain  at  their  own  lower  level,  or 
even  to  sink  below  it.  This  group  happened  to  be  Italian, 
but  the  facts  are  probably  true  of  any  similarly  constituted 
group  of  immigrant  women  of  the  other  nationalities  which 
form  the  mass  of  our  newer  immigrant  stock. 

Henriette  R.  Walter. 


3.8 


APPENDIX  B 

RECORD  CARDS  USED  IN  THE 
INVESTIGATION 

A. — Investigator's  Record  of  Work  Place 

B. — Worker's  Record  of  Factory 

C. — Record  of  Worker 

D. — Work  History 

E. — Household  of  Worker 

F. — Weekly  Income  of  Family 

G. — Weekly  Expenditures 

H. — Record  Used  by  International  Institute 


3>9 


K 

0 

- 

s 

J 

. 

0 

0 

5 

i 

§ 

5 

* 

■ 

z 

z 

9 

J 
u. 

" 

0 
Q 

3 

J 

i 

0 

i 

0 

2 

0 

• 

0 

D 

< 

3 

z 

M 

* 

i 

5 

0 

J 

Ul 

t- 
< 
0 
P 
<A 
Ul 

> 
Z 

z 

0 

3 

i 
< 

> 

* 

0 

« 

z 
u. 
0 
0 

z 

* 

7 

< 

z 

0 

2 

z 

0 

4 

0 

X 
K 
0 

0 
0 

0 

3 

a 

0 

£ 

1 

0 

J 

J 

2 

ft 

X 

; 

J 

(A 

h 

Z 
Ul 

; 

H 

a 

ft. 
3 

0 

z 

z 

5 

s 

I 

z 

z 

• 

<A 
Id 

S 

• 

J 

a 

5 

< 

0 

£ 

J 

5 

i 

Z 
IA 
D 

IK 

< 
0. 
Ul 

z 

0 

Ik 

■ 

J 

3 
Q 

i 

* 

. 

2 

■ 

Q 

0 

o 

a 

< 

T 
U 

X 

3 
0 

i 

M 

tt 

z 

I 

! 

ft 

0 
3 

a. 

(A 

K 
O 

0 

6 

0 

o 
z 

s 

K 
0 

0 

0 

"    z 

0    0 

2 

u. 

*     0. 
0      3 
<     0 

o.     a 
►-     o 

< 
ft 

6 

Z 

\ 

i 

tr 

1 

„ 

< 

z 
o 

u 

3 

D 

a 

■  s 

Z 

1     z 

?    o 

0 

a 

11 

£ 

D 

>     0 

0 

H 

c 

w 

fc       IL 

h   * 

o 

0 

■ 

z 

* 

J   o 

< 

■< 

a 

0 

o 

z 

0 

0 

H 

0 

IL 

a 

* 

z 

u 
X 

ft. 
0 
a 
hi 
O 

9 

1 

z 

0 

i 

0 

u 

z 

0 

z 

5 

I 

0      | 

j  s 

5 

< 
Z 

< 
Z 

0 

* 

< 

z 
Ik 

0 

ft 

a 

0 

. 

z 

0 

m 

o 

u 

0 

I  *- 

i 

0 
I 

0 

I 

1 

s 

> 

0 

s 

5» 

o 

z 

i  • 

6 

z 

J 

u 
a: 

u 
» 

J 

z 

4 

< 

«    z 

0 

<  < 

£    4 

a 

K 

R 

** 

z 

X 

■ 

IA 

i  i 

o 

> 

0 

a 

J 

• 

0 

III 

Qt 

■ 

>■ 

r 

0 

z 

< 

S 

0 

Q 

z 

i 

i 

o 

Z 

0 

3 
Z 

5 

• 

*~ 

J 

B 

I 

< 

z 
a. 

0 

E 

z 

<  i 

£ 

'"    c 

? 

-     0 

D 

>-   h 

Z 

It 

■ 

■j 

• 

5  < 

a 

u 

z 

4 

B 

3 

0 

► 

j 

5  P 

w 

o 
J 

c 
o 

i 

z 

0 

; 

Z 
a 

z 

0. 

B 

9 

>    w 

> 
z 

z 

u. 

H 

z 

2 

a 

5 

X 

* 

0 

* 

0 

Q 

0 

X 

< 

z 
i 

0 

3 

o 

z 

z 
5 

r 

0 

Z 

j 

z 

0 

• 
z 

X 

0 

1 

• 
z 

• 

> 

5 

a 

y- 

t 

K 

3 

3 

Q 

» 

o 

2 

* 

E 

0 

z 

* 

J 

• 

i 

u 
0 

z 

j 
< 

-j  ; 

o 

0 

I 
u 

0 

< 

z 

S      * 
Z      K 

z     0 

z 

0 

0 

0 

u 

z 
< 

z 

0 

z 

0 

< 

o    z 
*    < 

a 

3 

or 
-J 
O 

tr 
> 

O 

o 

X 

tt 
0 

u 
i- 
< 

r 

i 

X 

z 

J 

z 

j 

»- 

B 

I 

0 

z 

J 

0 

u 

320 


X 

X 

in 

a: 

o 

£ 

it 

■ 

J 

V 

0 

V 

o 

3 

< 

_! 

o 

Q. 

t 

Q 

i 

u 

o 

- 

i 

6 

< 

I 
o 

0 

3 

o 

z 

< 

< 

h 

t 

> 
< 

o 

J 

< 

» 

E 

o 

-1 

O 
4 

a. 
I 

s 

□: 

J 

J 

a 
a 

£ 

I 

i 

\ 

0 

z 

u 
3 

< 
z 
0 

z 
J 

ir 
I 

z 
o 

F 

I 
o 

K 

■r 
< 

3 
I 

1 

-i 

< 
o 

z 

z 
0 

13 

z 

< 

t- 

Z 

o 

z 

t 

> 

I 

< 
< 

z 

I 
■J 

in 

hi 

sc 

? 

in 

z 

> 

K 

1 

H 

w 

t 

^ 

u 

1- 

O 

a! 

X 

o 

z 

K 
< 

-1 

S 

cr 

3 
< 

rr 

z 

> 
0 

in 

a. 

►- 

> 

1 

Ik 

3 

u 

o 

r-' 

0 

C 

0 

ID 

a 

z 
c 

z 

r 

i 

2 

I 

0 

e 

to 
cr 

z 
o 

t 

3 
r 

O 

z 
o 

Z 

o 

p 
< 

u. 

o 

o 

0. 

3 

< 
S 

£ 

I 

cr 

I 

Z 
c 
o 

5 

«> 

e 

I 

> 

3 

z 

0 

z 

e 

1C 

UJ 

0 

b. 

-1 
J 

£ 

O 

u 

i 

J 
< 

hi 
O 

a. 
a 

>• 

h 

c 

a. 

I 

« 

to 

E 

■) 

c 

3 
0 

a: 

D 

H 

X 

w 

0 

M 

I-' 

> 

IB 

o 

cr 

0 

a. 

I 

j 

z 

D 

o 

i 

5 

< 

a 

fc 

o 

a 

I 

Ul 

j 

i 

o 

< 

£ 

i 

2 

o 
e 

< 
I 
o 

< 

3 

3 

o 

0 

u 

< 

u 
u 
1 

* 

3 

1 

0 

X 

z 
0 

< 

E 

I 

z 

13 

z 

h 
0 

a 

in 
in 
u 

0 

c 
c 

<r 

0 

S 

< 

I 

X 

Z 
0 
0 

z 

■ 

E 
1 

o 

c 

0 

E 
Q 

u. 

o 

0 

< 

i 

c 

O 

o 

a 

I 

S 

i 

« 

i 

K 

I 
CC 

a. 

■ 

0 

0. 

< 

a 

CE 
4 

K 
a 
0 

i 

z 

3 

< 

a. 
z 

< 

K 
O 
1- 

l_ 

> 

Z 

o 

0 

< 

I 

2 

3 

< 

a 

P 

0 

I 

a! 

I 

o 

0. 

a! 

ni 

in 

o 

I 

3 

J 

o 

Q 

E 

> 

E 

u 

> 

2 

J 

h 

< 

o 

a 

I 

1 

X 

cr 

z 

0 
u. 

■ 

s 

o 

o 

S 

> 

J 

I 

o 
o 

0 

5 

M 

S 

B 

1 

a 

cr 
o 

3 

o 

Z 

o 

o 
c 

tc 
o 

i 

0) 

X 
z 

Z 

►- 
< 

a: 

1 

< 

I 

3 

a 
o 

i 

e 
o 
a 

z 
13 
UJ 
m 

( 

i 

C 

0 
z 
1 

a 

r 
z 

D 

0 

z 

H 
I 
> 
O 
_| 

0 
i 

■ 

0 

t 

O 

c 

? 

c 

w 

z 

o 

z 

o 
5 

0 

< 

> 
1- 

z 
o 

2 
u. 

o 

u 

f 

1-       It 

5     | 

S 
o 
o 

E 

n. 

I 
u 

z 
o 

H 
w 

bl 

s 

< 

H 
S 

o 
o 
a. 

z 
< 
a 

j: 
u 

M 

Z 

IS 

* 

cr 
o 
o 

>  3          ° 

X 
E 
O 

O 
u 

u 

t- 

< 

i 
i 

0 

z 

z 

Q. 

K 

J 

u. 

ir 

S 

I 

Oz         X 

i 

" 

a 

321 


u 


X 

a 

< 

w 

»- 

* 

O 

< 

or 
o1 

0 

1 

3 

> 

" 

H 

J 

? 

m 

0 

> 

D 

z 

D 

< 

< 

0 

z 

» 

° 

2 

z 

■ 

I 

z 

•t 

s 

o 

o 

z 

t- 

in- 

3 

O 

1- 
O 

a. 
w 

0 

z 

it 
J 

13 

Z 

o 

IT 

a. 

o 
< 

0 

z 
u 

z 

> 

Z 

cn 

ir 

i 

o 
o 

a 

c 

1- 

-1 

< 

0 

< 

o 

a 

r 

T 

r 

3 

6 

T 

s 

0 
cr 

0 

w 

< 

c 

_i 

a 
Z 

> 

a; 
z 

a 
O 

u. 

<3 

u 

0. 

" 

i 

o 

t- 

0 

< 

o 

z 

u 

3 
0 

ffi 

J 

z 

5 

z 

a. 

0 

o 

o 

F 

< 

o 

z 

j 

I 

S 

j; 

cr 

< 

T 

c 
o 

0 

0 

1- 

< 

o 
0 

X 

in 

b. 

k 

0 

cr 

3 

< 

0. 

S 
o 

0 
0 

I 
or 

5 
cr 
o 

o 

a. 

u 

u 

0 

o 

u 

u. 

1, 

3 
o 
o 

a. 
u 

I 

n 
o 

Id 

0 

I 
z 

> 
< 

< 

D 

< 

u 

0 

Z 
u. 

* 

0 

1- 
0 

> 

i 

0 

^ 

< 

0 

n 

2 

z 

w 

IA 

E 

a. 

0 

D 

E 

O 

Q 

o 

► 
1- 
> 

z 

a. 

z 

Q 

I 
3 

■ 

I 
1- 
0 

I 

I 
z 
o 

< 

I 

i 

< 

Z 

5 
0 
I 

i 

0 

E 
O 

1- 

_, 

U 

l- 

c 

o 

O 

< 
z 

i 

a 

i 

o 

^ 

cr 

> 

2 

z 

I 

o 

s 

> 

| 

o 

z 

CO 

z 
o 

D 

0 

i 

> 

D 

0 

z 

| 

< 
J 

i 

" 

< 

< 

in 

Z 
0 

* 

i 

w 

U. 

in 

u 

a 

0 

z 

(0 
M 

K 

a 

a 
< 

Z 
0 

Q 

0 

•J 

o 

X 

0 

►- 
< 

0 

0 

< 

in 
c 
w 
a. 
« 
a. 

z 

D 
I 

I 

u 

2 
< 

Z 

Q. 
X 

> 
-J 

S 

u 
h 
0 

z 
in 
i- 
o 

o 

0. 

m 

U) 

o 

< 

< 

1- 

> 

z 

0 

o 

z 

I 
0 

z 

0 

u 

Ul 

3 

o 

3 
O 

z 

a 

0 

a 
0 
J 

E 

a 

* 

s 

< 

< 
o 

O 

< 

H 

u 
z 
< 
z 

w 

E 

7 

o 
o 

5 

a 

6 

2 

o 

> 

z 

1- 
01 

o 

0 
H 
M 

I 

C 

0 

I 
c 

V. 

<i 
z 
0 

z 

3 
Z 

o 

a 

1 

Z 

a 
0 

I 

< 

z 

(J 

Z 

< 

-» 
(I 

o 

Ii. 
z 

0 

< 

a 
o 

5 

o 
u 

1- 
< 
a 

O 

o 

X 

o 

I 

0 

I 

a 

D 

a 

z 

0 

ul 

> 

in 
< 

a. 

s 

z 

z 
2 
< 

< 

c 

H 

in 

y 

z 

u 
g 
«" 
J 

0 

E 

X 

t- 
c 

o 

1- 

o 

a. 
O 

V) 

o 

z 

z 

z 

2 

O 

< 

O 

s 

m 

i 

15 

z 

a: 

a 

"3 

i 

- 

h 

o 

< 

3= 

z 

z 
o 

O 

X 

u. 
0 

' 

i 

H 
1 

c 

« 

■ 

c 

a 

z 

u 

: 

H 

o 
3 

\ 

F 

I 

z 

o 

r~ 

z 

a 

c 
] 
d 

0 

> 

o 

1- 
< 

IE 

f 
O 

t 

t    o 

z 
z 

u 

E 

i 

— 

0 

0 

a 

o 

0 

z 

r 

kl 

Z 

o 

o 

• 

-    o 

X 

u 

in 

l» 
in 

2 

en 

o 

u 
a 

3 

o 

< 

u 

in 

□ 

= 

0 

< 
z 

E 

z 

o 
in 
■/ 

2 

c 
J 

I 

« 

o 

j 
i 

3 

u 

: 

« 

14 

t 
1 

> 

I 
0 

h 

a 
s 

u 

1 

3 

I 

L 

< 

c 

o 

0 

c 

: 

i 

< 

■J 

M 

« 

a 

i 

u 

a 

« 

] 

: 

^ 

i 

a 

a 

z 

0 

0 

322 


!!2x 
(IS- 

r 

i 

2o 

z 

«> 

o  < 

M  u 
<  J 

B 

s 
o 

< 

z 

X 

u 

,o 

<r 

Z 

I  z 

0 

o> 

> 

xo 

z 

o 

k 

J 

ft. 

0 

z 

o 

u 

u 

3?£ 

t  = 

3 

II  z 

il  c 

K 
O 

e2  ; 

O 

H 

u. 

c 

o 

X 

0 

a 

z 

X 

H 

z 

■ 

u 

K 

D 

* 

Q 

■ 

o 

Q 
< 

o 

< 
a 

z 

F 

X 

B 

X 

■ 

> 
z 

o 

t 

E 

~ 

1. 

k 

0 

«l 

/ 

o 

H 

0 

U 

■ 
a 

«> 

Z 

o 

< 

< 

X 

Z 

o 

z 

o 

h 

H 

< 

V) 
C 

I 

i 

■ 

C 

< 
z 

5 

1 

0 

t 

1 

u  0 

u 

xj 

X 

0 

F  z 

1 

z 

M 
Z 

a 

0 

< 

"o 

c 

z 

<  j 

K 

O  a 

i 

3 

X 

„ 

< 

2 

o 

H 

**"             *~ 

a 

u 

323 


_u 


Z      ^ 

N 

2    o 

3 

% 

I 

If 

1 

J  j  . 

3 

:0« 

1 

3 

0  t  o 

» 

\\ 

C 

3 

1 , 

ffw" 

C 

1: 

ft 

i 

s  1 

0      * 

E 

i 

> 
j 

ft 

« 

E 

l^<i 

E 

~=2 

E 
E  . 

O 

h 

~ 

3 

« 

Z 
u 

! 

£  I 

E 
J 

a 

a 
t       « 

;     s 

z 

t 

>■ 

*  3 

5 

s 

:     u 

o 

-1 
0. 

f 

*- 

j 

;    0 

1        U 

z 

0 

I 

u 

„ 

> 

:      O 

W 

a 

X 
1- 
< 

< 

z 
> 

S 

o 

z 

z 

oc 
o 

St 
a 

a 

z 

5 
i 
< 

0 

i 

1 

) 

) 

i 
) 

'. 

a 

i   x 

3       t- 
-       O 

2 

It 
O 

z 

0 

Z 
O 

p 

E 
O 

o 

_l 

b. 

^  > 

< 

6  £ 

z    t 

: 
l 

p 
< 

0. 

s 

a  -> 

is 

-    3 
u    t 
J     Z 

0   <* 

3 
3       ° 

a 
O 

z 

" 

.Si 

1-    3 

ik 

» 

E 

O 

U 

i 

<j 

O 

E 

z  W 

„ 

z 

«j  a. 

3 

i5 

£  5 

j 

: 
9 
3 

O 

(0 

0 

M 

>-  5 

u 

10 

z 

S 

0 

: 

U 

o 

E 

2 

X 

E 

3 

Q 

i 

111 

« 

a 

0 

D 

X 

3 

< 

I 
z 

a 

t- 

3 
O 

0 

0 

■ 

• 

5 

: 

z 
3 
i 

0 

X 

O 

X 

I 
v 

■ 

o 

3 

I 

> 

* 

3 

;    0 

L         W 

1. 

u 

£ 

o 

< 
a. 

0 

c 
z 

< 

I 

1    2 

3       1- 

t        0) 

a 
0 

u 

0 

z 

1        u 

< 

I 

a 

< 

u 

> 

0 

z 

< 

< 

a 

5 

P 

0 

M 

z 

z      O 

I 
O 

0 

0 

t 

»  2 

■0 

> 

X 

E 

J 

2  i  * 

O 

z 

0 

lb 

o 
r 

V- 

•t 

'3 

Z 

55" 
A    9 

O 

z 
z    S 

j 

s 

it 

!     a 

01 

■ 

0 
i 

> 

U 
1 

►• 

a   I 

»         O 

;  3 

z 
0 

Ml 

< 

7 

0 

£     <*■ 

z 

er 

z 

z 

3     ° 

u 

< 
z 

r 

3 

H 

a 

3      0 

t 

i 
z 

E 

o 

■ 

■i 

z 

0 

1 

►- 

3 

2 

1        "■ 

u 

z 

<r 

<r 

0 

m 

I 

1 

« 

J 

Z 

0 

324 


>- 


1      a 

i\ 

. : 

it 

y  9 

►  • 

a  0 

» 

!« 

0    • 

•  a 

>-  i 

►  ° 

fss 

1  >  I 

"5 

• 

»  o 

t! 

«  m 

t  < 

• 

• 

*• 

► 

z 

H 

1 

V 

o 

►■ 

-1 

X 

E 

w 

X 

a 

w 

O 

t 

a 
e 

a 

a 

H 

a 

9 

■ 

» 

a 
■ 
o 
| 

o 

o 

■ 

3 

O 

0 

M 

a 

M 

" 

.0 

a  a 

* 

M 

«?. 

3I| 

0  »  0 

l>I 

«  s 

• 

is 

.  M    C 

■ 

J: 

i 

II 

u 

o  * 

c 

►■  i 

a     . 

«  o 

a 

<     - 

»■ 
r 

M 
I 
> 

\ 

a 

O 

S  . 

t-  I 

:  % 

\  i 

i 

w 

tf 

a 

» 

« 

i 

r 

c 

C 

M      0 

»- 

3 

■ 

0 

• 

« 

i 

I 

€ 

O     i 

c 

I 

9 

a 
a 

e 
I 

■ 

* 

t 

| 

e 

at     * 

j 

m 

i 

a 

2  * 

%  ■ 

w 

z 
< 

■ 

«  c 
1  I 

a 

c 
c 

■ 

?  i 

<  o 

Z  f 

o 
c 

£  i 

3     ' 
• 

- 

« 

n 

« 

• 

£ 

e 

- 

« 

r> 

« 

<n 

• 

~      0 

325 


326 


f 

s 

1 

, 

•i 

c 

:^ 
c 

o 

I 

-: 

i 

c 

2 

,- 
< 

«     > 

a 

„ 

1 

1 

£ 

> 

s    a 

* 

„ 

g 

w 

■ 

o    o 

a 

| 

0- 

> 

* 

D 

2 

5 

n 

s 

a 

3 

V 

< 

CL 

' 

a 

5 

2 

q 

S  z 

z 

■ 

! 

-  o 
z 

K 
O 

1- 

Ul 

> 

u. 

3 

■ 

2 

*  cr 

S  O 

a 

-  3 

> 
a 

§ 

o 

z 

' 

3 

.  Cr 

X 

o 

i 

> 

i 

z 

e 

O 

1 

« 

1 

»S 

2 
c 
o 

B 

ID 
CO 

X 

=  z 

H 
h 

I 

o 

B 

z 

UJ 

Z 

o 

6 

z 

o 

X 

O 

2 

jj 

1 

s 

1 

i-  a 

Jo 

z 
5 

t- 

5 

o 
z 

UJ 

o 

o 
»- 

en 

s 

? 

z> 

° 

a 

! 

o 
o 

< 

o 

5 

o 

u 
o 

z 

5 

a 

a 

o 

3 

o 

5C 

a; 

G 

> 
< 

< 
1- 

co 

40 

! 

Ul 

s 

2 

1 

2 

:; 

5 

u 

O 

CO 

< 

6 

1- 

a 

U! 

oc 

a 

» 

t 

z 

H 

E 

C 

| 

o 

i 

3 

§ 

5 

5 

i 

< 

UJ 

r  m 

° 

: 

* 

a 

> 

§ 

i 

jj 

2 

< 

S 

a 

z 
< 

j 

* 

d 

| 

f 

* 

> 
a 

uj 

1 

< 

i 

5 

'<  ° 

S 

S3 

X 

z 

O 

o  o 

O 

ct 

1 

"  o 

"  z 

o 

K 

o  X 

< 

o 

■J 

o 
o 

o 

oS 
-o 

il 

u 

3 

x   . 

I  cc 

u 

E 
< 

o 

i- 
o 

z 

i 

o 

B 

*   < 
cr 

s 

< 
z 

z 
o 
p 
o 
z 
o 
o 
o 

> 

X 

§ 
z 

I  0 

I 
u. 
o 

a 

03 

2 

CE 

a 
O 

I 

UJ 

o 
0: 
< 

O 
CD 

z 
o 

p 
< 
a 

3 
O 

o 

I 

a 

z 

UJ 

z 

a 
0 

a 

- 
u 

z 

(3 

z 

o 
o 

I 

i 

-1 
< 
u 

I 

a 

3 

t- 
z 
< 
S 
c 
o 
M 

b 
t 
t 

E 

UJ 
CL 

0 

3 

K 
< 

o 

cr 

s 

2 
QE 

3 

< 

K 

V> 

J 

J  o 

o|   . 

a 

-1 

s 

2 

o 

z 

Z 

Q 

cc 

5 

o 

on 

z    » 
-3 

327 


APPENDIX  C 


TABLE     I. 


-PERSONS    PER    ROOM    IN    HOUSEHOLDS    OF    ITALIAN 
WOMEN    WORKERS 


Households  of 

women  coming 

from 

Persons  in  house- 
holds of  women 
coming  from 

Persons  per  room 

Sicily 
and 

south- 
ern 

Italy 

Cen- 
tral 
and 
north- 
ern 
Italy 

All 
dis- 
tricts 

Sicily 
and 

south- 
ern 

Italy 

Cen- 
tral 
and 

north- 
ern 

Italy 

All 
dis- 
tricts 

Less  than  i  person 

1  person  but  not  more  than 

\]/i  persons 
More  than  \y£  persons  but 
less  than  2 

2  persons  and  less  than  3 

3  persons  and  less  than  4 

4  persons  and  less  than  5 

9 

107 

50 
126 

25 
8 

10 

S5 

27 

59 

5 

1 

'9 
192 

77 

185 

30 

9 

28 
524 

337 

985 

232 

83 

30 
436 

176 

475 
46 

9 

58 
960 

513 

1,460 

278 

92 

Total        .... 

325 

.87 

5l2a 

2,189 

1,172 

3.36i 

More  than  \}4  persons 
Number  .... 
Per  cent  .... 

209 
64.3 

92 
49.2 

301 
58.8 

1,637 

74.8 

706 
60.2 

2,343 
69.7 

a  Of  the  544  families,  16  did  not  report  both  number  of  rooms  and 
total  persons  in  household,  and  16  more  did  not  state  district  from 
which  they  came. 


328 


SUPPLEMENTARY    TABLES 

TABLE    2. — SIZE    OF    FAMILIES    OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN    WORKERS, 
BY    DISTRICT   OF    ITALY    FROM    WHICH    THEY   CAME 


Families  from 

All 
families 

Persons  per  family 

Sicily 

Southern 

Central 

Northern 

Italy 

Italy 

Italy 

2  members    . 

6 

5 

12 

23 

3  members 

7 

21 

3 

19 

50 

4  members 

13 

28 

3 

28 

72 

S  members 

6 

37 

4 

27 

74 

6  members 

■4 

42 

3 

20 

79 

7  members 

10 

36 

6 

23 

75 

8  members 

5 

33 

4 

23 

65 

9  members 

2 

26 

2 

10 

40 

10  members 

3 

7 

1 

2 

13 

1 1  members 

4 

'4 

1 

3 

22 

12  members 

9 

1 

10 

1 3  members 

1 

2 

1 

4 

14  members 

1 

1 

Total   . 

7i 

261 

27 

169 

528a 

More  than  6  persons 

Number 

39 

170 

17 

83 

309 

Per  cent 

54-9 

65.4 

62.9 

49.1 

58.5 

a  Of  the  544  families,  16  did  not  report  district  from  which  they 
came. 


TABLE    3. — CONTRIBUTORS    TO    THE     INCOME    OF    FAMILIES    OF 
ITALIAN    WOMEN    WORKERS 


Contributors  per  family 

Families 

1  contributor 

2  contributors 

3  contributors 

4  contributors 

5  contributors 

6  contributors 

7  contributors 

8  contributors 

9  contributors 

10  contributors  or 

mort 

8 
94 
■59 
129 

87 
37 
16 

7 
4 
3 

Total  families     . 

544 

329 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

TABLE  4. — WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  FATHERS  IN  FAMILIES  OF 
ITALIAN  WOMEN  WORKERS,  BY  REGULARITY  OF  EMPLOY- 
MENT 


Weekly  wages 

Fathers  whose  employ- 
ment was 

All 
fathers 

Regular 

Irregular 

Less  than  $5 
$5  and  less  than  $8     . 
$8  and  less  than  $10  . 
$10  and  less  than  $12 
$12  and  less  than  $15 
$15  and  less  than  $20 
$20  and  less  than  $25 
$25  or  more 

1 

9 

7 

21 

18 

24 

3 

5 

1 
3 

4 
15 

5 

>7 
4 
2 

2 
12 
1 1 
36 
23 
4i 
7 
7 

Total         .... 

88 

5i 

139a 

a  Of  the  287  fathers  employed  as  wage-earners,  137  did  not  report 
weekly  wages,  and  1 1  did  not  give  information  on  regularity  of  work. 


TABLE  5. — YEARS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  ITALIAN-BORN 
WOMEN  WORKERS,  BY  AGE  AT  COMING  AND  ABILITY  TO 
SPEAK   ENGLISH   AT  TIME  OF   INVESTIGATION 


Women  who  at  time  of 
coming  were 

All 
women 

Years  in  the  United 

Less  than 
14  years 

14  years  or 
more 

Speak- 
ing 
Eng- 
lish 

Not 
speak- 
ing 
Eng- 
lish 

States 

Speak- 
ing 
Eng- 
lish 

Not 
speak- 
ing 
Eng- 
lish 

Speak- 
ing 
Eng- 
lish 

Not 
speak- 
ing 
Eng- 
lish 

Total 

Less  than  1  year   . 

1  year    and    less 
than  2. 

2  years    and    less 
than  5. 

t  years  or  more 

7 
214 

1 

1 

1 
2 

4 

12 
58 

9' 
70 

72 
66 

4 

■9 

272 

92 

7' 

73 
68 

92 

75 

92 
340 

lotal   . 

221 

5 

74 

299 

295 

304 

599 

330 


SUPPLEMENTARY    TABLES 

TABLE    6.— WEEKLY     HOURS     OF    WORK     INCLUDING    OVERTIME 
OF    ITALIAN    WOMEN    WORKERS,    BY    INDUSTRY 


Women  w 

10  worked 

More 

More 

than 

54 
but 

Industry 

54 

hours 

than 
60 

but 

70 
hours 

All 

women 

or 

not 

less 

or 

less 

more 
than 

than 

more 

60 

70 

Manufacturing 

Rowers  and  feathers 

3 

'7 

12 

1 

33 

Men's  and  boys'  clothing 

2 

6 

7 

1 

16 

Women's     tailored     gar- 

ments     .... 

4 

16 

2 

22 

Dresses  and  waists    . 

15 

54 

15 

84 

All    other    women's    and 

children's  clothing 

5 

24 

16 

45 

Paper  goods 

5 

9 

4 

2 

20 

Candy 

4 

17 

5 

26 

Tobacco      .... 

3 

7 

2 

12 

Headwear   .... 

3 

3 

6 

Textiles  and  miscellaneous 

sewed  materials 

2 

10 

■4 

26 

Miscellaneous     manufac- 

tured goods    . 

1 

10 

9 

20 

Store  and  office  work    . 

2 

4 

J 

2 

1 1 

Total                      Sumber 

42 

164 

104 

1 1 

32  ia 

Percent 

13. 1 

51.1 

32.4 

3-4 

1 00.0 

a  Of  the  367  women  who  had  worked  overtime,  46  did  not  supply 
information  as  to  weekly  amount  of  overtime. 


331 


ITALIAN  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 


TABLE  7. — WAGES  OF  LARGEST  GROUP  OF  WOMEN  IN  FACTORIES 
INVESTIGATED,  BY  INDUSTRY 


Shops  in  which  wages  of  largest  group  were 

Industry 

Less 

than 

16 

$6 
and 
less 
than 

$7 

$7 
and 
less 
than 

$8 

$8 
and 
less 
than 

$9 

$9 
and 
less 
than 
$10 

$10 
and 
less 
than 
$12 

$12 
and 
less 
than 
$15 

$15 

or 

more 

All 
shops 

Flowers  and  feathers 

Men's  and  boys'  cloth- 
ing        .... 

Women's    tailored    gar- 
ments   .... 

Wholesale    dressmaking 

Muslin    underwear   and 
corsets 

All    other  women's  and 
children's  clothing 

Paper  goods     . 

Tobacco    .... 

Candy  and  other  food- 
stuffs    .... 

Headwear 

Textiles  and  miscellane- 
ous sewed  materials    . 

Rubber,  fur,  and  leather 
goods     .... 

Miscellaneous  manufac- 
tured goods 

Laundry  .... 

1 
1 

2 

1 

4 
7 
1 

1 

1 
3 

1 

3 

4 

11 

S 
S 

1 

1 

1 
4 

2 

1 

5 
8 

5 

2 

14 

2 

1 
2 

4 
9 

1 

3 

5 
3 

1 

6 
3 

7 

6 

1 
4 

8 

8 
1 
5 

1 
5 

5 

2 
1 

3 

2 

7 
1 

6 

9 

1 

2 
3 
1 
1 

3 

5 

2 

1 

1 

5 
1 

20 

24 

15 
9 

20 

31 

23 

S 

25 

14 

34 

14 

5 

4 

Total.        .      ^Umb" 
Per  cent 

5 

13 

35 

47 

35 

54 

36 

18 

243 

2.1 

5-4 

14.4 

19.3 

14.4 

22.2 

14.8 

7-4 

100. 0 

332 


SUPPLEMENTARY    TABLES 

TABLE     8. — MONTHLY     RENT     PAID     BY     FAMILIES     OF     ITALIAN 
WOMEN    WORKERS 


Monthly  rent 

Families 

Less  than  $10 

$10  and  less  than  $12 

$12  and  less  than  $14 

$14  and  less  than  $16 

#16  and  less  than  $18 

$18  and  less  than  $20 

$20  and  less  than  $25 

$25  or  more 

26 

44 

82 

93 
95 
58 

71 
33 

Total 

502a 

a  Of  the  544  families  investigated,  three  owned  their  own  homes, 
10  leased  the  whole  tenement  house  in  which  they  lived  and  sublet 
to  other  families,  14  were  receiving  rent  in  return  for  janitor  service, 
two  lived  in  the  rear  of  stores,  and  13  did  not  state  amount  of  rent. 


TABLE  9. — AGE  AT  LEAVING    DAY    SCHOOL    OF    ITALIAN   WOMEN 
WORKERS,    BY    LOCATION   OF   LAST   SCHOOL   ATTENDED 


Women  who  last  attended 
day  school  in 

Age  at  leaving 

New 
York 
City 

United 
States 
outside 
New 
York 
City 

Italy 

All 
women 

Less  than  10  years 

10  years  and  less  than  1 1 

1 1  years  and  less  than  12. 

12  years  and  less  than  13 

13  years  and  less  than  14 

14  years  and  less  than  1  5 

1 5  years  and  less  than  16 

16  years  or  more     . 

3 

3 

5 

3' 

67 

397 
120 

34 

2 

1 

3 
6 

3 

17 
21 

37 
65 
29 

32 
14 

8 

20 
24 
44 
97 
99 
435 
137 
42 

Total 

660 

15 

223 

898a 

aOf  the  1,095  investigated,  99  did  not  state  age  at  leaving,  two 
had  returned  to  school,  one  had  last  attended  school  in  Brazil,  leav- 
ing school  at  twelve  years  of  age,  and  95  had  never  attended  school. 

333 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Age  of  Workers:  women,  15, 
17,  301;  children,  17,  24,  28, 
84,  257,  264;  at  coming  to 
U.  S.,  36,  104,  244,  300-301, 
330;  in  clothing  trades,  37, 
40-43;  protective  legisla- 
tion, 82,  102-104,  284;  and 
hours  of  work,  83-85,  90-93, 
101-103;  earning  capacities, 
•35-137.  '44»  '50-'52,  256- 
279;  contributors  to  family 
income,  169-170,  180,  209, 
252-258,  264,  330;  at  leav- 
ing school,  304,  333 

Agriculture:  farm  workers  in 
Italy,  27-28;  workers  in  N. 
Y.  City,  33 

Alliance  Employment  Bureau: 
co-operation  of,  7 

Americanization:  immigration 
problems,  2-5,  23,  285-296; 
purpose  of  study,  3;  settle- 
ments, 5,  7;  women  and 
children,  23-24,  291;  in  city 
colonies,  167;  young  men, 
174;  legislative  plans  for, 
291-295;  International  In- 
stitute classes  a  factor,  312 

Apprentices:  customs  in  Italy, 
40;  learners,  79,  141,  263- 
271,  317 

Artificial  Flower  Makers, 
by   Mary  Van    Kleeck,   57, 

257 

Ayres,  L.  P.,  257 


Budgets:  families  investigated, 
6,  16,  161;  income,  and  con- 
tributors to,  17-21,  137, 
169-191;  yearly  income 
estimated,  147-150,  161- 
216;  income,  by  age,  151- 
152,  169-175;  by  occupa- 
tions, 1 53-155, 170-175,  1 77— 
185;  earnings  of  men 
workers,  171- 176;  women 
wage-earners,  177-190,  219- 
240;  family  expenditures, 
191-206;  for  clothing,  229- 
233 

Buildings:  tenement  condi- 
tions, 13-15,  195;  factories 
and  lofts,  31,  32,  65;  re- 
modeled dwellings,  66,  68, 80 


Candy:  factory  workers,  49-50, 
60,  64,  73,  76,  77;  seats  for 
employes,  73,  77;  hours  of 
work,  83,  85,  86,  90,  91,  101; 
weekly  wage  statistics,  129, 
131,  132,  140;   learners,  269 

Carnegie  Corporation:  Ameri- 
canization study  by,  292 

Census:  immigration  reports, 
1,  io-'ii;  N.  Y.  City,  and 
wage-earners  in,  17,  264;  of 
occupations,  33,  37,  38,  264; 
wage  statistics,  172 

Chapin,  Robert  Coit,  193,  194 

Charges:  supplies  used  by 
workers,  157-159;  for  tools, 
158;  for  injured  goods,  159 


337 


INDEX 


Children:  number  employed, 
17,  169,  170,  254,  257;  edu- 
cation, in  Italy,  28,  168, 
242-256;  labor  in  Italy,  28; 
flower  makers,  45,  182,  209, 
237;  industrial  standards 
for,  55,  169,  284;  work  vio- 
lations, 76,  82,  84,  93,  102, 
249,  264;  hours  of  labor,  82, 
84,92,  102;  wages,  136,  137, 
139,  141,  151,  268;  number 
in  families,  165,  214;  state 
educational  law,  249,  291; 
school  careers,  249-26 1 .  See 
also  Apprentices 

Clothes:  workers' budgets,  201- 
202,  228-233;  brought  from 
Italy,  229 

Clothing  Trade:  manufactur- 
ing center,  32;  extent  of,  37- 
44;  age  of  workers,  37,  83- 
85;  needle  trades,  38-44; 
number  workers,  38,  43,  60- 
63,  314;  workers  sought  in 
Italy,  44;  employers'  atti- 
tude toward  workers,  63-64, 
76,  78,  104;  members  of 
unions,  104,  105;  seasonal 
employment,  109,  no,  1 1 1- 
112,  115;  weekly  wages,  1 29- 
131.  133-134.  '37.  '39-  '40, 
155.  3>6.  332 

Colonies:  Italian,  5,  11-15,  32; 
"Little  Italy,"  12;  manu- 
facturing centers,  31-32;  in- 
vestigation of  families  and 
customs,  164-168,  203-206 

Consumers'  League:  co-opera- 
tion of,  7,  293 

Coppino  Act:  247 

cvcl  dim  1)1  \  of  educa  hon,  247 


Dependents:  contributions  to 
relatives,  236-238,  307; 
debts  and  obligations,  308 

Dewey,  Evelyn,  8 

Division  of  Industrial  Stud- 
ies: investigation  methods 
of,  6-8;   co-operation,  7 

Domestic  Service:  children  in 
Italy,  28,  29;  number  em- 
ployed in,  33,  34,  314 

Dressmaking:  preference  for, 
38,  39-42,  313;  apprentices, 
40;  overtime  workers,  88, 
91;  trade  unions,  104;  Man- 
hattan Trade  School,  260 


Economics:  causes  of  Italian 
emigration,  10,  25-27,  30, 
304-307;  family  incomes, 
16-21,  147-155,  161-190, 
254;  child  wage-earners, 
254;  financial  burdens,  307- 
308 

Education:  readjustment  prob- 
lems, 2-9,  23-24,  282,  296; 
schools  and  settlements,  7, 
241-262;  in  Italy,  24,  28,  43, 
242-248,  253-255;  immi- 
grant workers,  105,  142-144, 
167-168,  242-262,  289,  302- 
304;  standards,  205,  215, 
241,247,288-291;  percent- 
age of  illiteracy,  242-24S, 
302-304;  Italian  attitude 
toward,  255-257,  288;  and 
unskilled  labor,  263-284, 
286;  legislative  plans,  291- 
204;  school  attendance,  and 
age  at  leaving,  303-304,  33} 

Embroidery:  skill  of  workers, 
42;  beadwork,  42;  number 
employed,  <>o 

Departmeni     of     Education:      Employers:   interviews  with,  6, 
state  plans  of,  291  7.   '■>!  ()'^  73.  7(>.  81,   130- 

J38 


INDEX 


141;  attitude  toward  work- 
ers, 63-65,  287;  on  over- 
time, 96-^98;  report  maxi- 
mum wages,  130-155;  fines, 
effectiveness  of,  155-157; 
charge  for  supplies,  157-159; 
employment  of  learners, 
263-271,  284 

Employers' Association:  57 

Employment  Offices:  federal 
service,  125,  294 

Engraving:  skill  and  wages,  77, 
141 

Equipment:  See  Workrooms 

Errico,  Amalia,  8 

Evening  Schools:  information 
source,  7,  260;  attendance 
at,  289,  291.  See  also  Edu- 
cation 

Expenditures:  family  budgets, 
6,  161-216;  keeping  account 
of,  163;  assets  and  liabili- 
ties, 191—194;  rent,  194- 
197,  224,  333;  food,  197- 
199,  227,  311;  fuel  and  light, 
199-200,  234;  insurance, 
200-201;  clothing,  201-202, 
228-233 ;  miscellaneous,  202- 
206,  234-236;  board,  how 
paid,  31 1 

Families:  number  investigated, 
6,  164,  170,  328;  in  crowded 
tenements,  14-15,  184,  196- 
197,  214;  average  member- 
ship, 16,  164,  328,  329;  in- 
comes, 16-21,  169-190,207- 
215,  329,  330;  budgets  in- 
vestigated, 161-216;  group 
characteristics,  164-168; 
number  of  contributors,  170, 
187,329;  expenditures,  191- 
206;  heads  of  households, 
310 


Fathers:  contributors  to  family 
income,  18,  171-173;  time 
in  U.  S.,  23-24;  education 
denied  to,  256,  286;  heads 
of  households,  310 

Fatigue  and  Efficiency,  by 
Josephine  Goldmark,  95 

Feathers:  number  of  workers, 
37,  51;  scope  of  trade,  45, 
46;  work  conditions  and 
wages,  80,  268;  hours  of 
labor,  90,  92;  home  work, 
106 

Fines:  candy  factory,  77;  for 
tardiness,  155,  156-157;  re- 
sults, 156 

Fire  Protection:  loft  work- 
rooms, 65,  67-68,  78 

Flower  Making:  number  of 
workers,  36,  37,  45,  60,  180, 
182,  257;  home  work  by 
children,  45,  180,  209,  257; 
hours  of  work,  90,  91,  92, 
1 01,  106,  107;  wages,  and 
experience,   139,  182-183 

Food:  expenditures  for,  197— 
199,  222-227,  3 ' '  >  report  of 
Bureau  of  Standards,  198; 
inadequacy,  227,  235 

Fuel:  and  expenditures  for,  199, 
221;   heat  lacking,  234 


Goldmark,  Josephine,  95 

Grace    Chapel:     co-operation 
with,  7 


Health:  and  industrial  welfare, 
69-82,  87;  Kent  on  dangers 
of  overtime,  94-95;  laws 
violated,  101-103,  197;  ex- 
penditures for,  202-203 ;  233- 
234.    See  also  Overcrowding 


339 


INDEX 


Holidays:  social  observance  of, 
12;  and  employes'  wages, 
122-123 

Home  Work:  children,  17,  45, 
46,  257-259;  hours  em- 
ployed, 88,  106-107;  num- 
ber of  workers  and  wages, 
180-183,  212,  257 

Hours  of  Labor:  factories  in 
Italy,  29,  30;  box  making, 
48;  candy  trade,  50,  331; 
standards  recommended,  55; 
law  violated,  76,  78,  80,  83- 
93,  100-103,317,331;  state 
legislation,  82;  for  children, 
82,  84,  92,  93,  102-103; 
compensation  inadequate, 
126-127;  weekly,  by  indus- 
try, 33' 

Housing:  tenement  conditions, 
14-15,  195-197,  221-222, 
225-226;  industrial  boun- 
daries, 31-32;  factory  build- 
ings, 65-66;  lodgers  and 
boarders,  184-185,  225-226; 
persons  per  room,  328.  See 
also  Overcrowding 


Immigration:  decrease  since 
1914,  1-2;  Americaniza- 
tion plans,  2-5,  167,  291- 
296;  problems,  3-9,  23,  163- 
168,  242,  284-290,  296;  In- 
ternational Institute  work, 
7-8,299-318;  causes  of,  10, 
25-26,  165,  166,  286,  304- 
307;  nativity  of  emigrants, 
13,  22-23,  166,  301-302; 
wages,  by  experience,  137- 
144;  newcomers  who  earn, 
139-155;  U.  S.  Immigra- 
tion Commission  reports, 
iqo,  242,  261;  report  of 
Massachusetts  Commission, 
226;  illiteracy,  241-255; 
U.  S.  reports  on,  242,  261, 


264;  legislation,  291;  ages 
of  women,  300-301,  330; 
relatives  tabulated,  309; 
statistics,  329,  330,  333 

Income:  family  budgets,  6,  16, 
161-216;  age  and  sex  of 
contributors,  17-21,  164- 
183,  187;  sources,  18-21, 
26-30,  168-185;  report  on, 
19;  women  in  Italy,  27-30; 
and  irregularity  of  employ- 
ment, 108,  1 16-120,  161, 
1 71—183;  factors  that  de- 
termine wages,  127-145; 
wage  statistics,  130-155, 
161-216,330,332;  problems 
of  estimating,  147-150,  161- 
164;  yearly,  by  age,  151- 
152;  by  occupations,  153- 
155;  factors  that  reduce, 
155-160,  171-175;  from 
lodgers  and  boarders,  184- 
185;  adequacy  considered, 
186-191;  and  expenditures, 
191-194;  regularity  of,  207- 
216;  diagrams  showing  fluc- 
tuations of,  210-215;  con- 
tributors per  family,  329 

Industrial  Conditions  in 
Springfield,  Illinois,  55, 
170 

Industrial  Standards:  inves- 
tigation by  Russell  Sage 
Foundation,  6-9,  57;  wo- 
men in  Italy,  27-30;  bases 
of  requirements,  54-56;  pub- 
lications, 55;  employers'  at- 
titude on,  58-59,63-81,287; 
conditions  inadequate,  65- 
75,  77-78,  81,  127,  128,  287- 
290;  legislative  adjustment, 
291-296 

Insurance:  recommendations 
for,  56;  against  unemploy- 
ment, 125;  life  policies,  200- 
201;   and  savings,  206-207 


340 


INDEX 


International  Institute:  work 
of  Young  Women's  Chris- 
tian Association,  7-8,  237; 
occupations  tabulated,  35, 
144;  study  by,  and  purpose 
of,  299-3  '8;  English  classes, 
312 

Investigation:  purpose  of  in- 
dustrial, 3-5;  methods,  5-8; 
by  Russell  Sage  Foundation, 
4,  6;  settlements  co-operate, 
5;  records,  6,  162,  320-327; 
investigators,  8;  workplaces 
in  N.  Y.  City,  56-81;  re- 
sults published,  57;  propor- 
tion of  Italians,  60-63,  76, 
77,  78,  80,  8 1 ;  working  con- 
ditions, 65-81;  wage-earn- 
ers' budgets,  161-216;  of 
families,  164-168;  income, 
sources  of,  168-191,207-215; 
of  yearly  incomes,  161-191, 
207-216;  expenditures,  191- 
206;  savings,  206-207;  by 
International  Institute,  299- 
3.8 

Irregularity  of  Employment: 
percentage  among  fathers, 
19;  mothers,  20;  problems 
of  employers,  57,  58,  62,  76, 
1 10-114;  seasonal  indus- 
tries, and  effects  of,  108- 
124;  methods  of  regulariz- 
ing, 1 10-114,  124-125;  ex- 
tent of  unemployment,  1 14- 
116;  causes,  1 17-124,  140; 
legislation  for,  125;  results 
of  shifting  positions,  152- 
153;  and  family  budgets, 
161-163,  169-175,  180-183, 
207-216 

Italian  Girls'  Industrial 
League:   purpose,  5-6 

Italy:  emigration  from,  and 
economic  causes,  10,  22, 
25-30,  242-254,  304-307; 
"Little  Italy,"   12;    women 


wage-earners,  27-30,  40,  242, 
314;  illiteracy  in,  242-256, 
302-304;  schools,  and  age 
at  leaving,  246-262;  educa- 
tional standards,  247,  255; 
dependents  in,  307 

Kent,  A.  F.  S.:  on  industrial 
fatigue,  94-95 

Laggards  in  Our  Schools,  by 
L.  P.  Ayres,  257 

Legislation:  social  standards, 
recommendations  for,  55-56, 
291;  Wage  Scale  Board,  57; 
variable  standards,  72-73; 
state  regulation  of  working 
hours,  82,  97;  work  certi- 
ficates, 76,  102,  103;  hours 
of  work  violated,  100-104; 
enforcement  of  laws  diffi- 
cult, 103;  to  remedy  unem- 
ployment, 125,  294;  com- 
pulsory education,  247,  249, 
291 

Lighting:  workroom  facilities, 
66,  69-70,  80,  8 1 

Literacy.    See  Education 

"Little  Italy":  customs  and 
standards  of  living,  12-15,25 

Lofts:  industrial  districts,  31, 
32;  factory  conditions,  65- 
81.    See  also  Workrooms 

Lunch  Rooms:  wisdom  of  pro- 
viding, 74-75,  287 

Manhattan  Trade  School:  co- 
operation of,  7;  class  rec- 
ords, 260 

Manufactures:  investigation 
of  industrial  standards,  6,  7, 
9,  54-57;  factory  districts, 
31-32;   per  cent  of  workers, 


341 


INDEX 


32-38,  42,  45-  47.  48.  49- 
51,  60;  occupations,  33—36; 
clothing  trades,  37~44:  cen- 
sus of,  38,  172;  flowers  and 
feathers,  45~47;  PaPer 
boxes,  47-48;  tobacco,  48; 
candy,  49,  60,  76-77;  proc- 
esses, 51-53.  60;  seasonal 
employment,  108-125;  oc- 
cupations correlated,   314 

Massachusetts        Minimum 
Wage  Commission,  221 

Meigs,  Elizabeth  L.,  8 

Minimum  Wage:  set  by  Streigh- 
toff,  19;  meager  earnings, 
20,  26,  28-30,  76,  79,  80,  33c, 
332;  investigation  of,  56, 
57;  for  beginners,  78,  79,  81, 
315,  316;  significance  of, 
207,  221;  Massachusetts 
Commission,  decree  of,  221 

Monroe,  Paul,  247 

More,  Louise  B.,  193,  194 

Mothers:  contributing  to  fam- 
ily income,  17,  19-20,  21,  23, 
169,  170,  177,  178,  180-184, 
190,  286;  standards  of  liv- 
ing, 207-216 


Nationality:  the  "new"  immi- 
gration, 3-4;  Italian  col- 
onies, 5,  1 1-15.  25;  and 
social  differences,  13,  25;  of 
workers,  22,  60,  61,  63,  64, 
76  Ho,  302,  328;  adjust- 
ment, and  earning  capaci- 
ties, 144;  racial  prejudice, 
[66,  288;  districts  of  na- 
tivity,  3OI-3O2,    <2S 

\i  i  i»i  1  I  R  \m  s:  leading  in- 
dustries, 3S;  U.  S.  census  of 
manufactures,  38;  dress- 
making, 38-41;   embroidery 


and  beadwork,  42,  60;  fin- 
ishers, 43,  61,  62;  propor- 
tion of  workers  in,  60-62,  76, 
78,  81 ;  lighting  systems,  6q, 
70;  efficient  workers,  76; 
hours  of  work,  82-86,  88,  91 ; 
strikes,  105;  seasons  affect 
earnings,  108-118;  wage 
statistics,  128-133,  140-141, 
152-155;  skilled  processes, 
133-135.  See  also  Clothing 
Trades 

New  York  State  Factory  In- 
vestigating Commission: 
on  wages,  19;  on  rent  and 
housing,  194 


Occupations:  industrial  groups, 
31-33;  number  of  workers, 
33-38,  83,  219,  332;  census 
ot>  33»  37;  manufacturing 
processes,  51-53,  60,  83,  86, 
109,  115;  and  hours  of  work, 
83-93,  331 «  seasonal,  108- 
124,  172;  legislation  to 
stabilize,  124-125;  that  test 
endurance,  126-128;  and 
wage  statistics,  128-155, 
172-190,  219-221,  233-234, 
237-240,  314,  332 

Odencrantz,  L.  C:  on  indus- 
trial standards,  55-56,  170 

Overcrowding:  tenement  con- 
ditions, 14-15,  196,  203,  214, 
221-222,  225-226;  industrial 
districts,  31-32;  workrooms, 
32,  66*,  67;  lodgers  increase, 
184-185,  225-226;  serious 
phases  of,  226;  persons  per 
room,  328 

Overtime:  in  Italy,  29-30; 
(lower  and  feather  making, 
45;  paper  boxes,  48;  candy 
trade,  50;  violations  of  law, 
76,  7H,  Ho,  84-87, 88-94,  100- 
104,    317;    dangers  of,  94- 


342 


INDEX 


98;  workers  protest,  98-100; 
factory  laws  inadequate, 
102,  103-104 

Overwork:  farm  hands  in  Italy, 
27,  28;  in  factories,  29,  30, 
48,  50,  76,  78,  80,  82-107, 
127,  317;  law  prohibits,  82 

Paper  Box  Making:  unskilled 
work,  47-48;   wages,  48,  63 

Piece  Workers:  seasons  affect 
earnings,  108-112,  11 5-120; 
and  holidays,  123;  number, 
and  earnings,  128;  rate  de- 
termination for,  140-141 

Population:  United  States  im- 
migration report,  1-2,  10- 
11:    U.  S.  Bureau  of  Labor 


statistics,  1 ; 
borhoods,  5, 
census,  10- 11 


Italian  neigh- 
n-15;    U.   S. 
17,  264 


Potter,  Zenas:  on  industrial 
standards,  55-56 

Processes:  classification  of  in- 
dustries, 51;  subdivision  of 
work,  51-53,  266;  dove- 
tailing, difficulties  of,  113; 
determine  wages,  133-135; 
on  men's  clothing,  266; 
training  learners,  267-271. 
See  also  Occupations 

Professional  Service:  women 
employed  in,  34 

Readjustment:  immigration 
problems,  2-5,  23,  242;  in- 
dustrial standards  a  basis, 
55-56,  283-296;  legislative 
planning,  291-295 

Record  Cards:  investigation 
methods,    162,  319-327 

Rent:  lodgers  and  boarders,  184- 
185;    in  family   tenements, 


194-197,  .333;    studies,  and 
standards  for,   194-195,  311 

Rest  Periods:    New  York  law, 

87 
Richardson,  Anna  M.,  8 

Richmond  Hill  House:  a  social 
settlement,  5,  7,  162 


Roemer,  Elisabeth,  8,  162 

Russell  Sage  Foundation: 
vestigations  by,  4,  6, 
95,  170,  193,  255,  257 


m- 

57. 


Sanitation:  ventilation,  70-71 ; 
cleaning  systems,  71;  dust 
menace,  71,  80,  81;  conges- 
tion in  tenements,  196-197, 
2 1  5,  286 

Savings:  methods,  206-207, 238- 
239 

Seasonal  Industries:  effect  on 
wage  earners,  108-125,  '6i~ 
183;  employers  regulate, 
110-114;  unemployment, 
extent  of,  11 5-124,  180-183; 
legislation,  125;  wages,  130, 
131,  172-190;  home  work, 
180-183.  See  also  Irregular 
Employment 

Seasonal  Industry,  A,  by  Mary 
Van  Kleeck,  57 

Seats:  N.  Y.  law  requires,  72; 
workers  denied,  73,  77,  81, 

287 

Settlements:  social,  5,  7;  Rich- 
mond Hill  House,  5,  7,  162; 
evening  schools,  260 

Skill:  and  experience,  30,  35, 
38,  43,  61,  63;  hand  sewing 
and  embroidery,  40,  42,  61; 
flowers  and  feathers,  45; 
variation  of  processes,    50- 


343 


INDEX 


53;  determines  wages,  61 , 
63,  76,  77,  79,  127,  132,  286; 
engravers,  77,  141;  shop 
training,  263-264;  processes, 
and  learners,  265-270 

Social  Standards  for  Indus- 
try, 55 

Spring  Street  Neighborhood 
House:   co-operation  of,  7 

Standard  of  Living  in  New 
York  City,  by  R.  C.  Cha- 
pin,  193 

Standards  of  Living:  investi- 
gation of  Italian,  4-9,  161- 
168;  a  menace,  4,  14;  and 
Italian  emigration,  10,  12- 
15,  165,  286,  294,  318;  in- 
dustrial requirements,  54- 
57;  factors  that  influence, 
128,  145,  161,215;  housing, 
194-197;  dietary,  198;  fam- 
ily contrasts,  214;  women 
without  homes,  217-227, 
234-235 

Streightoff,  Frank  H:  sets 
minimum  wage,  19;  report 
on  factory  investigations, 
194;  on  rents,  195;  food 
studies  by,  198 


tribute  to  investigation,  7; 
women  unorganized,  56,  78, 
81;  and  high  wages,  62; 
demand  eight-hour  day,  82, 
104;  organizations,  and 
number  members,  104,  105, 
206;  strikes,  105,  293;  im- 
prove standards,  160,  293; 
recommendations  for,   292 

Tuberculosis:  induced  by  over- 
crowding, 203,  215 


Unemployment:  men  workers, 
19;  women,  20;  slack  sea- 
sons, 58,  62,  76,  108-125; 
extent,  1 1 5-1 16,  239;  causes, 
1 17-124;  legislation  to  pre- 
vent, 125.  See  also  Seasonal 
Industries 

United  States  Bureau  of  La- 
bor Statistics:  immigra- 
tion, 1-2;  labor  bulletin  by, 
57,  217,  237 

United  States  Employment 
Service,  294 

United  States  Immigration 
Commission:  reports  of, 
190,  242,  261 


Tenements:  and  social  differ- 
ences, 13,  166;  living  condi- 
tions, and  overcrowding, 
14-15,25,  184,  195,  197,203, 
214,  221-222;  rents,  194- 
197,  286,  333;  fuel  and 
light,  199-200;  persons  per 
room,  328 

Tobacco:  foreign-born  workers, 
48;  training  learners,  269, 
317;  statistics,  314,  331,  332 

Trade  Unions:  Women's  Trade 
Union    League,    5-6;     con- 


Vacations:  and  wages,  121-124 

Van  Kleeck,  Mary:   investiga- 
tions by,  8,  57,  255,  257 


Wage-Earners'  Budgets,  by 
Louise  B.  More,  193 

Wages:  in  Italy,  10,  28-30,  40, 
41;  minimum,  19,  56,  57, 
207,221;  unskilled  workers, 
20,  26-30,  45-49,  61,  76-80, 
315,  317;  embroiderers,  42, 
44;  clothing  makers,  61-63, 
76,    78,    316,    332;     sewing 


344 


INDEX 


straw  hats,  63 ;  paper  boxes, 
63;  candy  makers,  77,  332; 
engravers,  77;  feather  work- 
ers, 80,  332;  overtime,  94, 
98,  100,  107;  and  seasonal 
employment,  108,  112,  116, 
118,  120,  130-131,  180-183; 
vacations  and  holidays,  121- 
124;  significance  of,  to  work- 
ers, 126-128,  145,  207,  221; 
statistics  by  industries,  128- 
134,  332;  by  ages,  135-137; 
by  experience,  137-144;  and 
actual  earnings,  145-155; 
diagrams  show  fluctuations 
of,  210-213;  of  women  with- 
out homes,  219-221,  230, 
233>  237-240;  of  fathers, 
330 

Wage  Scale  Board:   labor  sta- 
tistics by,  57 

Walter,  Henriette  R.,  8 

Woman's      Suffrage      Party, 
Americanization  plan  of,  291 

"Women  Adrift":  government 
reports  on,  217;    standards 


of  living,  218-227,  234-240; 
occupations  and  wages,  219- 
220,  237,  238,  239;  living 
expenses,  223-225,  234-236; 
clothing,  cost  of,  227-233; 
health  budgets,  234-236; 
dependents,  236-238;  sav- 
ings, 239 

Women  in  the  Bookbinding 
Trade,  by  Mary  Van 
Kleeck,  57 

Women's  Trade  Union  League: 
club  organized  by,  5-6 

Workrooms:  investigation 
methods,  6-9,  57;  industrial 
centers,  and  overcrowding, 
31-32,66,67;  standards  for, 
55;  loft  buildings,  65-68,  76, 
78;  elevator  service  to,  65, 
67;  in  remodeled  dwellings, 
66,  80;  fire  protection,  67- 
69;  lighting  systems,  69-70; 
ventilation,  70-71 ;  cleaning, 
71;  noise,  control  of,  72; 
seats,  72-74;  typical,  76-78; 
conditions  of  labor,  126-  127, 
287 


345 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  834  176    o 


